To any avid sports fan, Indiana is known to be the home of two of the United States' largest pillars of the sports industry — basketball and racing.
For 53 consecutive years, Indiana has been the home of the Indiana Pacers. After surviving the American Basketball Association — National Basketball Association merger in 1976, the Pacers have continually provided quality basketball for a state that resonates with the "ball is life" mantra. It resonates down to even the high school level, where thousands of fans attend the annual state championships held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Excluding four years during World War II, Indiana has been home to the Indianapolis 500 since inception in 1911.