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By Jordan Sigler
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Coming off an 11-1 campaign at James Madison in 2023, Curt Cignetti was optimistic about his opportunity to coach a Power 4 program at Indiana.
The Hoosiers might not have the history of Big Ten schools like Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, but IU has more resources than Cignetti's previous stops at IUP, Elon and JMU.
During an appearance on CBS' "60 Minutes", Cignetti said he was "furious" during his early days at Indiana in 2024 because of the negativity that surrounded the program.
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"The chip probably came from when I got here, right away," Cignetti said. "I detected an atmosphere that you can't get it done here. As soon as I walked in the building, facilities that had been neglected, the stadium banners that looked old, the offices that looked like they were from 1980, and then just the general attitude of the people I met, the lack of excitement.
"I was furious, pretty much, because all we did was win conference championships year in and year out... I mean, we win, and so it was a clashing of two worlds, and I wasn't going to lower my standards."
There were fair reasons for people to be pessimistic, regardless of the history of its new coach. The Hoosiers had won no national titles before Cignetti was hired. Before 2025, Indiana had won just two Big Ten titles, with the last coming in 1967.
The success was immediate for Indiana under a motivated Cignetti. The program went 11-2 overall and 8-1 in Big Ten Play in 2024, earning a spot in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The season brought optimism to people in the Hoosiers' program, setting the team up for a 16-0 record and run to its first-ever national title in 2025.
Indiana has a new issue to fight in 2026. Coming off of a national championship, Cignetti will need to make sure his program isn't complacent.
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