PORTLAND, Ore. -- Like a lot of Olympic hopefuls, Korey Thieleke needed a way to pay help for his training. Things as basic as shoes add up for track athletes who dont have endorsement deals.Thieleke, a promising sprinter who wanted a shot at the 400 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials, figured hed try raising funds online, which was hailed as a self-starting solution after the 2014 Winter Olympics. If he was able to raise enough, he could focus solely on pursuing his dream.He found that online fundraising can be just as challenging as more old-fashioned methods.A lot of athletes who were training for the Olympics did start one, but they werent always successful. You definitely appreciated the support, even if it was just a few thousand dollars, like ours, Thieleke said. But we saw people who were asking for like $10,000, and thats enough where you can pay for plane tickets to meets and hotels, you can take care of all of that. But not everybody gets there.The U.S. Olympic team is not supported by the government, like many of the teams from other nations. As a nonprofit organization, the U.S. Olympic Committee depends on private donations and sponsorships to support its sports and athletes.Hopefuls can get stipends, which also are distributed by the national governing bodies for individual each sports, but in many cases only the top athletes -- those most likely to medal -- receive them. Other forms of support, like health insurance or access to facilities, are also available, said Jon Mason, associate director of communications for the USOC.Elite athletes, like swimmings Michael Phelps and tracks Allyson Felix, also have lucrative endorsement deals. Others arent so lucky -- especially those athletes in sports that dont get much national attention outside of the Olympics. The Santa Clara Aquamaids club, which has sent scores of synchronized swimmers to the Olympics, runs its own bingo hall to financially support its competitors.Crowdfunding became a promising avenue for athletes in the months leading up to the Sochi Games. Athletes turned to general sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter, while other sites, like RallyMe and Pursu.It , focused only on fundraising for athletes and teams.Speedskater Emily Scott saw the stipend from her federation cut from nearly $2,000 to $600, and the situation became so dire she applied for food stamps. But after she went public with her plight, she raised $48,000 via GoFundMe in seven days.Some athletes headed going to Rio have seen similar success. Freestyle wrestler Kyle Snyder has raised more than $25,000 through his GoFundMe appeal to help his family travel to Rio, $5,000 more than his goal. Snyders campaign is unusual in that hes a student at Ohio State, so under NCAA rules he cant accept gifts from professional sports organizations, agents and school boosters.Ive been really lucky, Snyder said. I have a big family, my mom is one of 11 siblings, and my dad knows a lot of people, so I think spreading the word helped. And using social media correctly helped as well. I have a pretty decent amount of Twitter and Instagram followers so I was able to tweet it and Instagram it and there were a lot of people who shared it. And Facebook, too, I was able to get a lot of support that way. And then Ohio State -- a lot of people support the university. So it was kind of the perfect storm.This week the 94 GoFundMe campaigns aimed at training or travel to Rio by athletes and their families -- contained in a Road To Rio group on the site -- have raised just under $420,000. The numbers include athletes who compete for other nations.Broken down, thats only about $4,500 per athlete.Those in the industry agree that athletes need a compelling story to reach potential donors. Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad has raised more than $10,000 to help send her family to the games . Shes drawn attention as the first Muslim-American Olympian to compete for the United States in a hijab.For the vast majority, its a tough road, Mason said about crowdfunding. But he points to the success of RallyMe. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association reports that member athletes and clubs from around the nation have collectively raised more than $1 million via the site.Bill Kerig, founder and CEO of RallyMe, said athletes need to understand that crowdfunding doesnt mean donors will instantly come rushing to their aid. Success depends on a lot of factors, including the time and effort that an athlete puts into it.There is no magic. They (athletes) have to think of it from a business perspective. They have to raise an army thats with them year in and year out. Its not just, `Hey, its an Olympic year, lets go raise money, he said.Thieleke wasnt at the level where he qualified for a stipend or a companys endorsement.He was a basketball player for the University of Portland, but as a fifth-year senior, he was surprisingly successful at the 400 meters, breaking school records and qualifying for the NCAA championships and the U.S. championships after just a few months of training. Coaches suggested that he had a realistic shot at the Olympic A standard, which would qualify him for the Rio Games if he were to place in the top three at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.Thieleke started an online campaign but raised just $2,680, far less than his modest goal of $6,500. He tried to balance training, working and fundraising, but it wasnt working. His times werent improving.So he recently took a full-time job with Nike. 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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana Hoosiers spent seven years chasing a bowl bid.With the drought finally over, the Hoosiers can turn their attention to a whole, new world of possibilities.A national championship, not just a bowl game, defensive lineman Ralph Green III said when asked about Indianas next step. Everyone on this team believes we can play for a national championship -- and win it.Green wasnt making a prediction, a guarantee or even a boast about this season. He just wants outsiders to know that these Hoosiers are confident enough to dream bigger than their most loyal fans.The bold talk will take some getting used to In Bloomington, a town that usually reserves the term national championship for the mens basketball, mens soccer and the schools swimming and diving teams.Nearly a half century since winning its last Big Ten title, the football team wants in on the action.A year ago, the Hoosiers finished 6-7 -- a record that could have been significantly better had they not blown leads in the final minute of two games and a 25-point third quarter lead in another game. At Michigan State and at Ohio State, they were within a field goal going into the fourth quarter, and Michigan needed to convert a fourth-and-goal play with 2 seconds left in regulation just to force overtime.Despite losing all of those games, Indiana still made its first postseason trip since 2007 by winning its final last two games on the road for the first time since 1982.The Hoosiers also have won three straight over archrival Purdue for the first time in nearly seven decades. Beating the Boilermakers at home Nov. 26 would give Indiana a record-tying fourth consecutive victory the series; the only other time that happened was 1943-47.It has all given the Hoosiers momentum heading into Thursday nights season-opener at Florida International -- and has coach Kevin Wilson encouraging them to raise the bar.Im excited to see where these guys start. Im really excited to see how they go through the year, Wilson said, assessing the defense. I think its got a chance to be really, really good.If hes right, the Hoosiers could really have something because the offense is pretty talented, as usual.ddddddddddddThe Hoosiers are looking for a third consecutive season with a 1,000-yard runner -- something that hasnt happened since 1989 Heisman Trophy runner-up Anthony Thompson and Vaughn Dunbar did it from 1987-91. If Devine Redding runs for a second straight 1,000-yard season, it would be the first time in school history that the Hoosiers have produced three successive seasons with a different 1,000-yard runner.Redding finished with 1,012 yards last season and is working behind an offensive line that returns three starters and a new left tackle, who was an honorable mention selection on the 2015 all-freshman team.Its a way different feeling around here, the whole aura has changed, Redding said. You can feel this team is really gelling and were all on the same page.The question, of course, is whether the defense improves. Since 2005, Indiana has allowed an astounding 34.1 points per game.Though the Hoosiers have landed some solid players over the years, such as NFL players Adewale Ogunleye and Tracy Porter, they are starting this season with their third defensive coordinator in four years and have mostly struggled on that side of the ball.Green and others insist this seasons new attitude could produce the missing pieces to a championship puzzle.I have confidence we can be competing for a playoff spot, linebacker Marcus Oliver said. The biggest thing has been learning that we have the talent and that teams arent better than us. We just b