A pond for Ponds: Bloomington names body of water after Indiana CB

D’Angelo Ponds announced himself to the nation by returning an interception of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore for a touchdown on the first play of the College Football Playoff semifinal last Friday. That moment cemented his place in Hoosiers lore — and, now, on Bloomington’s map.

The city temporarily renamed a local pond “D’Angelo’s Pond” in honor of the Indiana cornerback after a social media post calling for such a move went viral. The city’s communications team approached Mayor Kerry Thomson with the idea, and she was quickly on board.

“(We) thought it was brilliant, really. It helps lift up some of the less visible players,” Thomson told The Athletic. “This was a great opportunity to highlight that our city is a place where potential is unlocked, and this team has really shown that.”

The retention pond — designed to temporarily hold stormwater runoff — sits just a few minutes from Memorial Stadium. Thomson’s office leaned into the metaphor in its announcement, writing that “like a great cornerback, a well-designed stormwater pond knows how to contain and protect.”

Ponds told Fox 59 that the renaming was a “once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

“Just to have a pond named after me is something that’s always been talked about, but I was just really shocked to see it come to life,” he said.

After drawing little attention from major programs out of high school because of his size, the 5-foot-9 defensive back committed to James Madison and coach Curt Cignetti in 2022. Ponds earned Freshman All-America honors in 2023 before following Cignetti to Bloomington, where he’s emerged as one of the nation’s top cornerbacks. He was named Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl in Indiana’s win over Alabama, then earned the same honor in the Hoosiers’ rout of Oregon.

Bloomington’s honor also rewards Ponds’ loyalty to the Hoosiers. He was offered by 30 programs after entering the portal last April — including Alabama, Tennessee and Miami. He told The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman that he had second thoughts after committing to Indiana, a school better known for its basketball program. But he chose to stick with Cignetti and the Hoosiers, and is now on the precipice of winning the school’s first national championship and completing one of the greatest turnarounds in sports history.

“The vibe in Bloomington recently around football has been quite different than it has been in the past 30 years,” Thomson said. “The whole community has really come together around this team and around their story.”

Asked why the new name for the previously unnamed pond wasn’t permanent, the mayor said an official name change would’ve required the use of public resources.

“It’s unofficially official until the end of time,” she said. “… But, at the end of the day, who knows? Anything’s possible.”

While Thomson has not gotten the chance to speak with Ponds, she’s heard that the cornerback is planning a visit when he returns from Miami. The pond is not swimmable, so Thomson hopes to toss a football across the pond to Ponds.