UNSUNG HEROES : How UIndy Fueled College Basketball’s Biggest Weekend
Drew Naumovich’s first Final Four experience wasn’t in the stands or the spotlight; it was in a laundry room. Washing towels may have seemed mundane, but during the 2021 Final Four, it was critical. Naumovich ’21 (MS in Sport Management) served as a volunteer for the event at Lucas Oil Stadium, where rows of empty seats stretched across the venue. Masked and distanced, he handled duties that, while usually routine, carried extra weight during the pandemic. “We had a crazy number of game balls,” said Naumovich. “Every time one went out of play, we had to cycle in a new ball and clean the other one before it could go back into play.” The atmosphere was strikingly different this year when the Final Four returned to Indianapolis. Empty seats were hard to come by as fans packed in shoulder to shoulder. “Now, if a ball goes out of bounds, someone just throws it right back in,” added Naumovich. This time, Naumovich was no longer on laundry duty. Now an assistant commissioner for the Horizon League, he helped lead the event. “Indy does it better than anyone else,” added Naumovich. It’s because of people like him.
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MAGAZINE // SUMMER 2026
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