The race was founded in 1951 by Howard S. Wilcox Jr., executive director of the Indiana University Foundation. He modeled the race after the Indianapolis 500 automotive race, which his father, Howard S. Wilcox Sr., had won in 1919. Racers compete in teams of four, racing relay-style for 200 laps (50 mi (80 km)) along a quarter mile (440 yd (400 m)) cinder track. Thirty-three teams are selected in qualifications trials to compete in the main race. Money raised by the event funds scholarships for working Indiana University students.
The events of the Little 500 were dramatized in the 1979 Academy Award-winning movie Breaking Away. This film depicts a group of Bloomington townies who enter the race as the "Cutters" and defeat the favored fraternity teams. Following the release of Breaking Away in the early 1980s, the successful Delta Chi fraternity's cycling team left their house and took the name Cutters as their independent team moniker. Their first race under this name was in 1984, which they won. The former fraternity team are now independent students, traditionally Bloomington locals, and have been tremendously successful, winning fifteen races.
The inaugural Women's Little 500 was held in 1988. Four members of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority completed a qualifications run in the 1987 men's event but failed to qualify. In 1988, the IU Student Foundation launched the Women's Race. Thirty-one teams competed in the first Women's Race, which was won by an all-freshman team, Willkie Sprint, representing Willkie Residential Hall. Kappa Alpha Theta has been the most successful Women's Team, qualifying for every race and winning ten times.
Billed as "The World's Greatest College Weekend," the race has expanded into a week of activities. The Women's Little 500 (100 laps; 25 mi (40 km)), first held in 1988, is run each year. Other events such as the Little Fifty Running Relay Race and Alumni Races add to the festivities. During his run for presidency, then-senator Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to the Little 500 women's race in 2008. As of 2019, the Little 500 has raised a total of more than $2 million in scholarship funds.
Special rules for the Little 500 race include that all riders must use the official Little 500 bike provided for that year. There can be no toe clips or grips, kick stands, water bottles, air pumps, untaped or unplugged handlebars, or any other add-on accessories. For safety, hard helmets must be worn and buckled at all times, as well as biking gloves. Each team is required to complete 10 exchanges (five for the women) during the course of the race. At the 198th lap (98th for the women), all riders not on the lead lap will be asked to move to the back or exit the pack.
Little 500 bicycles are standardized, single-speed, coaster brake racing bicycles with a 46x18 gearing, 700c wheels, 32mm tires and flat rubber pedals. The unusual specification originated with the famous AMF Roadmaster bicycles of the 1960s and 1970s, once the sole bicycle type used in the event. The men's and women's version differs only in frame size. Every year a new version of the specified bicycle type is purchased, with two given to each team. The current specification supplier is State Bicycle Company.
Several criteria must be met by a student who desires to participate as a rider in the Little 500. The student must be a full-time undergraduate student enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington Campus during the fall and spring semesters of the year of participation. The student must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or better and may only compete up to four times in a five-year period. The student must be an amateur and cannot hold a USA Cycling or equivalent domestic ASN of Union Cycliste Internationale Class I or II licence, or have been classified as Class A in women's or Class B in men's road cycling. Any student who has competed in speed skating, mountain biking, or triathlons at a high domestic or international level is ineligible. No substance abuse of any type is tolerated.
The Little 500 includes four events beside the race itself: Qualifications, ITTs, Miss-N-Out, and Team Pursuit. These events are collectively known as "The Spring Series." The team that wins The Spring Series is also awarded a white jersey to wear during that year's race. These events also ensure that all the members of a team, not just those competing in the actual race itself, can still participate and compete.
Qualifications, commonly known as "Quals," is the first and one of the most important series events. Qualifications is a four-lap race around the track to see which team can get the fastest cumulative time. These times determine if a team qualifies to race in Little Five and, if so, where in the field of the top 33 teams they will be placed. Teams start the race lined up in 11 rows of three, starting with the pole winner up front on the inside. Each team is given three attempts to qualify. The team that qualifies on the pole is given a green jersey for the race. In 2026, the Cutters were the Men's Pole Sitters and Kappa Alpha Theta were the Women's Pole Sitters.
Like a qualification, an Individual Time Trial (ITT) is a four-lap (one mile) sprint around the track, but it is performed individually. It is a test of both speed and sprint endurance. There are up to four riders on the track at a time. Drafting is prohibited. In 2025, Alpha Chi Omega rider Libby Lewis became the first freshman ever to win ITTs. The Men's ITTs All-Time Record is 02:15.78, set in 2005 by Hans Arnesen (Alpha Tau Omega). The Women's ITTs All-Time Record is 02:33.083, set in 2018 by Brooke Hannon (Melanzana). In 2026, Judah Thompson (Cutters) won the Men's ITTs and Leila Faraday (Teter) won the Women's ITTs.
Miss-N-Out is a standard elimination race in track cycling. Each heat consists of five to eight riders. At the end of the second lap and each subsequent lap, the rider in last place is eliminated. Riders keep racing until there are only three riders left, who then move on to the next round. This process continues until the final heat of eight. In the 2026 Men's Finals, Judah Thompson (Cutters) placed 1st. In the 2026 Women's Finals, Libby Lewis (Alpha Chi Omega) placed 1st.
Team Pursuit is run under UCI rules for team pursuit in track cycling. Two teams of four race around the track. The race lasts 15 laps (6,000 meters). The team's time is the time of the 3rd rider to cross the line. The Men's Team Pursuit All-Time Record is 08:38.81, set in 1986 by Cutters. The Women's 15 Lap Record is 10:16.95, set in 2024 by Kappa Alpha Theta. In 2026, Cutters won the Men's Team Pursuit and Teter won the Women's Team Pursuit.
Indiana University Student Foundation, as well as Riders Council, offer fall events for students to participate in. They also offer skills clinics. Events in the Fall Series include ITTs, Street Sprints, CycloCross and Tuesday Night Race Series. Fall Series results do not count toward Little 500.
Each night of the Tuesday Night Race Series is broken up into three events, all based on standard UCI track cycling formats. These include a Scratch race, a Points race, and Elimination race heats.
Thirty years later, in 2009, Smithville produced a half-hour-long documentary, Ride Fast, Turn Left, that followed four teams preparing for and competing in the race. In February 2015, One Day in April was released, depicting two men's and two women's teams' preparation. A Bollywood movie Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, based on the Little 500 and an adaptation of Breaking Away, was made in 1992, starring Aamir Khan. Highlights of the 1981 race were shown on ESPN and the first major coverage was by CBS Sports Saturday for the 1982 race. The races have also been broadcast live on the Indiana University student radio station WIUX and on television since 2002 on AXS.tv (formerly known as HDNet), which is owned by Indiana University alumnus Mark Cuban.
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