College basketball team’s road trip turns nightmare as bus catches fire and burns down

The Indiana University Indianapolis men’s basketball team endured a frightening ordeal on their way back from a game against Northern Kentucky on Sunday night. While traveling through Kent, Indiana, their bus suddenly caught fire. The incident has forced an immediate evacuation of the players. Fortunately, all players, coaches, and staff safely exited the vehicle, but the team lost all their gear, and some members also lost personal belongings, including phones and wallets.

The Jaguars had already faced disappointment earlier in the evening, suffering a close 71-67 loss to Northern Kentucky in Horizon League action. As they began the roughly two-hour trip back to Indianapolis, an unexpected mechanical issue led to the bus catching fire. Flames quickly spread, leaving the team stranded about 100 miles from home.
It remains unclear how the fire was first detected, but images circulating online show the devastating aftermath— a burnt-out bus frame surrounded by ash and first responders securing the scene.
Despite the frightening situation, everyone on board made it out without harm. The IU Indy Athletics Department later released a statement addressing the incident.

“On the return drive from today’s game against Northern Kentucky, the bus carrying the IU Indianapolis men’s basketball team experienced a mechanical issue, that caused a fire around Kent, Indiana. All members of the team and staff evacuated the bus without injury. Another bus is en route to pick up the team and deliver them back to Indianapolis,” the team wrote on X in an official statement.
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WISH-TV News reporter Kyla Russell also posted a series of photographs of the burned out bus on X, captioning, "A bus carrying the IU Indy men’s basketball team caught fire earlier tonight near Kent, Indiana. The team says everyone evacuated and there were no injuries."

The team remained composed as they awaited a replacement bus to take them back home despite the harrowing incident on the road. The loss of their gear and personal items was a setback but the players and the crew were grateful that no injuries were reported.
As of writing, any player, crew, and coach has not shared their thoughts on the devastating incident.