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Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Monday announced four appointments to Indiana University’s board of trustees, including conservative attorney Jim Bopp and sportscaster Sage Steele.
The appointments, effective immediately, came shortly after Braun announced the removal of two other members, Vivian Winston and Jill Maurer Burnett, through a single-sentence notice they received earlier Monday. The governor also appointed Brian Eagle, managing partner at Indianapolis law firm Eagle & Fein PC, and retained board chair Quinn Buckner.
“I am confident that these appointees, who are all Indiana University alumni, will serve in the best interest of the university and will help guide IU back in the right direction as a premier flagship university in our state,” Braun said in a written statement.
Bopp is a high-profile attorney whose practice largely focuses on constitutional law and specializes in First Amendment and Second Amendment cases. Bopp, owner of The Bopp Law Firm PC, is based in Terre Haute and has a long legal resume that includes arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court.
He also helped form a conservative think tank known as Hoosiers for Opportunity, Prosperity & Enterprise, which partnered with Braun’s campaign during the gubernatorial race to bolster policy stances and develop framework for prospective matters that the administration and the General Assembly’s Republican supermajority might look to address.
Steele is a former ESPN sports broadcaster who sued the broadcaster in 2022 following her paid suspension for criticism of the company’s coronavirus vaccine policies. The Carmel High School and IU graduate has since settled her case and now hosts The Sage Steele Show on YouTube, which focuses on one-on-one discussions with politicians, businesspeople, celebrities and sports figures.
Both Bopp and Steele were appointed to terms that will run though June 30, 2028.
Eagle’s term will expire June 30, 2027, while Buckner’s will end the same date in 2026.
Winston was elected to the board in 2022 and Burnett was elected in 2024, both by alumni. The governor removed the pair less than a month after a new state law gave him the power to do so.
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