Meet Our TEAM

Bill Murphy

(Bill writes columns within our section entitled "A Trip Down Memory Lane" and is a regular guest on Hoosier Heartland Podcast with Ben Malcomson)

I have been a life long Indiana fan.  It is a passion.  My grandmother worked at Indiana University and my parents grew up in Bloomington.  My first game was during the 1953 NCAA championship season, so I have been very lucky to see so many great players and games from 4 NCAA title games to both of Jimmy  Rayl's 56-point games and many others. I went to both New Albany and Indianapolis North Central high schools. I was able to teach US History for 35 years and coach basketball from grades 5 to high school level.  I am retired now but I continue to write books.  My first was in 2007 - The Cardiac Kids A Season to Remember - The story of the 1967 Indiana University football team.  Branch the Branch McCracken Story - which came out in 2013. The Indiana Hoosiers Fans Bucket List with Terry Hutchens in 2017, and a children's book called Am I a Hoosier that will come out this Fall.  This year will mark my 64th year of having Indiana University basketball season tickets.  I look forward to sharing with you the history of Indiana University football and basketball from someone who saw much of it first hand.  I will be doing a column with my friends Ben Malcomson and Chris Corley here at Hoosiers United entitled "A Trip Down Memory Lane" where each column I cover a different event, individual, etc. in IU athletics history.

Brian Tonsoni

(Brian writes columns and does his own podcast show within our section entitled "T'd Up with Brian Tonsoni.  He is a regular guest on Hoosier Heartland Podcast with Ben Malcomson)

Getting T’d up in basketball is usually not a good thing.  A technical foul often results when the coach shares his opinions very strongly with the game officials.  Two shots and the ball is the penalty for a technical at most levels of basketball. I have coached high school basketball for over 18 years, several as a head coach.  For the record, I have received or earned four technical fouls. None of which were deserved, wink, wink.

Here at Hoosiers-United, we like to share our thoughts with the readers on all things Hoosiers.  This column will bring you some opinions from an ole ball coach. Feel free to agree with me or to give me a “T”.  Hopefully, I will not be getting “T’d” up too often.

Actually, many fans, from time to time, question the decisions of coaches.  I hope to tee (T) up some positions on issues in order to answer those questions.  Understanding coaching decisions is never easy, but believe me every coach is attempting to make the right calls.

I currently teach juniors and seniors at Delphi Community Schools in Delphi. In addition to teaching, I am an assistant coach at Western High School in Russiaville.  I am the founder of the student-run Delphi Bracketology, which after three years is ranked as the #1 Bracketology source in the country. We will update the college basketball bracket on a regular basis and share it here on Hoosiers-United.  I host a podcast called “Sports Talk with Tonsoni” which covers many aspects of sports. My wife Amy and I have been married for 26 years and we have two sons, Brandon (23) and Brent (20).

Josh Wilson

(Josh writes columns within his section entitled Inside Out and also does a podcast show entitled Indiana Sportscast that is in partnership with Hoosiers-United)

I was born December 29, 1990 in Terre Haute, IN.  It have always been about sports from day one.  Most of my life has revolved around sports. Same goes for Indiana University.  IU has traveled through the blood of the Wilson family tree for decades. Growing up, I was a three-sport athlete that evolved into one entering my sophomore year of high school at Riverton Parke.  Although, I thoroughly enjoyed playing other sports, I truly loved basketball and was much better at it. This lead me to one sectional title and a regional championship appearance. After a nasty knee injury and a year of rehab and classes at Indiana State University, I earned an athletic scholarship to play basketball at Ancilla College in Plymouth, IN. Although I really wanted to go to Indiana University for college, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play college basketball.  It wasn’t the glamorous Division I lifestyle, but I made lifelong friends and got to experience things I would never forget. I also got to dabble in March Madness a little bit too!

After graduating with a business degree, I spent some time in management with Menards Inc..  In August of 2014, I started a career with then Springleaf Financial, now OneMain Financial.  I have been in management with them since April 2017 and I am truly excited about the future.

I have a beautiful wife, Dakota, and two beautiful daughters.  We are all Hoosiers! I am truly excited to partner with Ben, Chris, and the rest of the team at Hoosiers-United. I hope you join us for a fun ride!

Joel Wonder (Staff Writer/Podcaster)

Born in Linton, Indiana on January 19th, 1968 and I grew up in Worthington, IN where I graduated from Worthington Jefferson High School. I graduated from Vincennes University in 1989 and started a career as a land surveyor working in Indianapolis. While working, I attended Indiana University at night taking addition mathematics classes. I worked all over Indiana and the Midwest in the construction trade building golf courses, highways, and subdivisions. I worked on the construction of Victory Field and Bankers Life Field House. In 2008, after working in the surveying field for 21 years, the economy took a turn for the worse and my days as a land surveyor came to an end. After some work on the railroad, I became a cab driver which lead me to open a small car service business (Hoosier Car Service) that serves the needs of Indiana University students and Bloomington residents. 

Growing up in a small town only 30 miles west of Bloomington, I was like any other Indiana kid. Sports was everything growing up and basketball was my first true love. My first IU basketball memory was of my mother crying when Scott May broke his arm in ’75. My first game in SSAH was in 1980 where I was lucky enough to get to witness Isiah Thomas and Landon Turner. Unfortunately, basketball wasn't my strong suit so I focused most of my energy in baseball. After college I was looking to get back into sports and decided that coaching wasn't in my best interest so I became an umpire. I umpired several divisions including Little League, Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken. Eventually, that lead me to becoming an Indiana HS official and after 2000 or so games I finally hung up my mask.

After moving to Bloomington around 5 years ago I became involved in the Indiana sports social media scene. If you attend any Indiana University sporting events you might see me cheering on the likes of the baseball, volleyball, swimming or soccer teams as well as football and basketball. I’m a regular at the football and basketball radio shows held at the Holiday Inn here in Bloomington. My Twitter feed is devoted to one subject , Indiana University. Ben Malcomson took notice and asked me to join the Hoosier-United team as a contributor which I jumped at the opportunity. Feel free to reach out and talk IU sports anytime and I appreciate any feedback, good or bad, and I thank you all!

GO HOOSIERS!

Kathie Chong

(Writer/Podcaster)

(Kathie writes columns within our section entitled “Bourbon and Bows” and has her own podcast show “Hoo Hoo Hail” with Michigan Jeff.  She is a regular guest and co-host on Hoosier Heartland Podcast with Ben and Robie Malcomson).

I grew up in Carmel, Indiana in a home that had the IndyStar delivered every day.  I graduated from Indiana University, twice, as an undergraduate and graduate student in the Kelley School of Business.  Growing up, I focused more on the Pacers and the Colts – Mom went to USC and Dad went to Tennessee, so we did not have an allegiance to any Indiana college team.  At IU, I had season basketball tickets and went to football tailgates, but I was by no means someone who followed the teams closely.

The first time I started breaking down Xs and Os and diagramming plays was at the Rock during the 2017 overtime game against Michigan.  After paying close attention in the first few quarters to then-offensive coordinator Mike DeBord’s play-calling, I started trying to predict the calls towards the end of the fourth and in overtime (“run, run, pass, run some more”).  I found myself falling in love with the game, and more importantly, with the team.

My fandom has only continued to grow ever since.  I have gone from being someone who watches games socially only when someone asks me, to clearing out my schedule every Saturday for football and for every basketball game.  I have had the amazing experiences of rushing the court in Assembly Hall after beating Michigan State and meeting every player, going to tag the Boilermaker statue in West Lafayette with cream and crimson apparel before the big rivalry game, and hugging the Oaken Bucket before we took it back.

In my column, “Bourbon and Bows,” I write about Hoosier football and basketball.  My podcast “Hoo Hoo Hail” focuses on the personalities and story lines behind Big Ten sports, with a focus on football and basketball.  I am thrilled to be a part of Hoosiers-United, excited to grow my Hoosier fandom, and can’t wait to discover other Indiana sports.  HOO HOO HOO, HOOSIERS!