During the NCAA men’s Final Four weekend, Terry Hutchens was inducted into the United States Basketball Writers Association’s Hall of Fame. The class of inductees included Bob Baptist of the Columbus Dispatch, Donna Ditota of the Syracuse Post-Standard, and Chris Dortch of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. USBWA President Brendan Quinn praised the inductees for their dedication to covering college basketball and providing readers with valuable information and perspective.
Hutchens had a long and distinguished career as a sports journalist in Indiana, where he began his career in 1986 working for the Indianapolis News before joining IndyStar, where he covered Indiana University sports for 15 years. He continued his career with CNHI Sports Indiana until his tragic death in a car accident in 2018 at the age of 60. Hutchens was known for his extensive coverage of IU, writing 11 books, and teaching journalism at IU. He was a five-time recipient of the Indiana Sportswriter of the Year award and had a reputation for mentoring young reporters.
Starting as a general assignment reporter, Hutchens eventually focused on sports, covering a wide range of events including high school sports, racing, and the Pan Am Games. He reported on Wrestlemania VIII in 1992, a significant event for Indianapolis at the time. Hutchens took over the Colts beat in 1991 and then transitioned to become IndyStar’s IU beat writer in 1998. He documented key moments in IU sports history, such as the end of the Bob Knight era and coach Terry Hoeppner’s battle with brain cancer.
Growing up with a passion for basketball in southern California inspired him to pursue journalism studies at California State University Fullerton where he began covering high school sports for Fullerton Daily News Tribune before moving to Indiana at age 28 to focus on his beloved Hoosiers. His dedication to covering college basketball led him to be recognized by USBWA as one among this year’s Hall of Fame class along with other notable names like Bob Baptist from Columbus Dispatch and Donna Ditota from Syracuse Post-Standard
