Indiana cheerleader March Madness moment leads to NIL deal

The Indiana Hoosiers had a short-lived run in the 2021 NCAA Tournament but were still able to provide one of the most viral moments of the opening weekend of March Madness.

Going up against the St. Mary’s Gaels in the Round of 64, a ball got stuck on top of the backboard early in the second half. While players and officials struggled to retrieve it, Indiana cheerleader Cassidy Cerny was able to save the day.

Four days after the viral moment, Cerny has found herself with a NIL deal on her hands with BreakingT. The t-shirt company put a graphic of her dislodging the basketball with the words “The cheerleader saves the day” online and available for sale. Youth and child options are available, along with a hoodie. All will come in the same colors of Indiana.

A few different size options are available as well, ranging from small to 3XL. Priced at just $30 for an adult t-shirt and $55 for a hoodie, everybody is able to have the viral moment live forever while being able to support Cerny.

Indiana Hoosiers cheerleader on the viral moment

After the Indiana cheerleaders helped get the ball down from the backboard, they were met with a standing ovation from the crowd, the only such reaction Hoosiers fans had in the second half. Later in the broadcast, the TBS crew even caught up with Cerny on the sidelines to discuss her viral moment.

“We were like, ‘maybe we should throw us up there,’ but then it actually happened,” Cerney said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen,” she said with laughter.

The other Indiana cheerleader — the one that hoisted her in the air — was equally as shocked that their services were needed.

“They had the chair out there, but they couldn’t put the player on the chair. I was like, ‘Well, we lift them up all the time, so why don’t we just try that?’” he said.

She said she was “comfortable” in her abilities to get up there, eventually getting the ball down and letting Indiana and Saint Mary’s continue play. Unfortunately for Indiana fans, there wasn’t much else to cheer about that half.

“Every single day, we stunt together, so I’m (comfortable) with everyone here, too,” Cerny said. “That was nothing, really.”

The energy boost from the crowd was not enough for Indiana, eventually losing to St. Mary’s. However, it was an incredible end-of-season run for the Hoosiers, making it to the Big Ten championship and appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

On3’s Simon Gibbs contributed to this report