Hoosier Ticket Project to carry on legacy of IU icon ‘Martha the Mop Lady’
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — A new partnership is eliminating the cost of tickets for fans who want to see Indiana University athletic events in person. It’s called the Hoosier Ticket Project and it’s meant to give people opportunities who might not otherwise get them.
The free ticket project announced Tuesday is a continuation of the work started a few years back by a fictional character who is synonymous with IU basketball named “Martha the Mop Lady.”
“Whenever I thought of Indiana basketball, I thought of her, so when she popped up on Twitter and started giving away tickets, I think it was something each of us wanted to find a way to get involved with,” Josh Bruick, CEO of the Hoosier Ticket Project, said.
It was in 2019 when “Martha the Mop Lady” put out a tweet that changed everything. She asked for families who didn’t have the means to take their child to an IU game to reach out to her and she would send them. Her mission soon became too much for one Twitter account to handle. That was until a trio of true Indiana basketball fans stepped in.
“Here we are today and partnered with her to kind of take what she was starting on Twitter and grow to a nonprofit and try to get as many kids and families down to Bloomington as we can,” Bruick said.
Also on Bruick’s team are Chief Operating Officer Jason Gerdom and Director of Engagement Amanda Pavelka.
“We’ve been able to institute some protocols, some procedures, some software that is gonna allow us to scale that idea and then one piece that hadn’t been there that Amanda is gonna be phenomenal at because she’s at so many of the games is really taking care of the people who then get the tickets,” Gerdom said.
“I’m really excited to partner with youth organizations, kids who maybe have never been to a game, or their families maybe can’t afford to go to a game, just partnering with them and just giving them their first experience,” Pavelka added.
The Hoosier Ticket Project has already given hundreds of fans a seat in Assembly Hall. But for the team making the miracles happen, the project is about more than just basketball.
“More importantly, I think the impact it’s having on these young kids to give them maybe just a little bit of hope that maybe I’ll play basketball, maybe I’ll go to school here,” Bruick said.
Anyone interesting in donating to or volunteering with the Hoosier Ticket Project can find more information here.