So, on Tuesday afternoon, after weeks of rumors, the news came that the Indianapolis Colts aren't going back to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for training camp this season.
The Colts, after 11 seasons training in Terre Haute, Ind., will move camp to Anderson University in Anderson, Ind., the Indianapolis Star is reporting.
And so ends an era of sorts.
We at Indy Football Report won't insult intelligence by overemphasizing the change, or by waxing too poetic about the change in venue. The Colts will go on, of course, and there likely will be little visible difference on the field once the season begins.
Still, because the off-season is a bit of a slower news time and a time for reflection, let's reflect a moment on the Colts' time training in Terre Haute.
The Colts have trained there for 11 seasons, with those seasons not only 11 of the most successful seasons in franchise history, but an 11-year span successful on a level few NFL franchises have attained.
The Colts moved camp to Rose-Hulman in 1999, the year after Colts QB Peyton Manning's rookie season. They have missed the playoffs one time since, and in the Terre Haute era, the team has produced:
Seven division titles, six in the AFC South and one in the AFC East.
Ten playoff appearances.
Two Super Bowl appearances.
One Super Bowl title.
They have produced countless Pro Bowl selections, and more success during that era than any franchise has a right to expect, and while the presence of Manning obviously had a bit more to do with resume than the tiny engineering school on the east side of Terre Haute, there's little doubt Rose-Hulman will be missed.
Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy talked often of how perfect the campus was for training camp, and during Dungy's seven seasons as coach it often struck me as remarkable how much he truly enjoyed camp. And while it often struck me how much Dungy enjoyed everything about being a coach – from dealing with the players to doing his own errands and taking time to talk to front-office staff around the building – the memory of Dungy is one of the first things I think about when thinking about the Colts' 11 seasons at Terre Haute, nine of which I attended in some capacity.
So, that's where we'll start today – with Dungy – and we'll free-form a bit through some other memories and thoughts on Rose-Hulman as the Colts say good-bye to the campus after 11 years.
Dungy: There are few images as memorable for fans or media who covered the Colts at Rose-Hulman than Dungy walking everywhere around training camp. The team issued all coaches golf carts, and Dungy's was nicer than most of the rest of the staff, but I remember him saying in his first season – 2002 – that they were unecessary. The players didn't have them and he said he'd never use one, either. In seven seasons, I never saw him use the cart.
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