Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers football coach: “I was... furious, practically”
The 64-year-old was relatively unknown, and initially had his doubts about taking the IU football coaching job: “You can’t get it done here.”
Indiana University’s football program had the worst record in major college football when Curt Cignetti accepted the coaching post in November 2023. And if that wasn’t enough, some of the game’s established figures hadn’t even heard of him. Even Hall of fame broadcaster Don Fischer wasn’t familiar with the name: " I knew nothing about him," he said of Cignetti.
The Hoosiers had enjoyed just three winning seasons in their previous 30 years in the Big Ten when Cignetti took charge, and the program’s overall record was the worst in college football - a dire 36% win-rate or less for half a century.
It is much higher today - the transformation under Cignetti has been startling. He currently has a 24-2 record. He guided IU to 11 wins in his first season, setting a new school record and surpassing the nine amassed by Bo McMillin - the last coach to post an overall winning record in Bloomington, in the 1940s.
Taking the Hoosiers to new heights
This season, Cignetti’s team remain unbeaten (13-0) and capped off a flawless year by winning the Big Ten Football Championship Game beating the Buckeyes 13-10 earlier this month.
Today, the 64-year-old is 24-2 and already with a host of school records under his belt. He has also played a big role in the development of quarterback Fernando Mendoza - Indiana’s first Heisman Trophy winner,
Yet he revealed recently that he was reticent about taking the job initially. “Right away I detected an atmosphere that, ‘You can’t get it done here,’” Cignetti told CBS. “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 the, you know, just the general attitude of the people I met, the lack of excitement".
Setting new standards in Indiana
That came as a shock to a coach who had come with a 52-9 record at James Madison, including a 31-4 record in conference play. “I was furious, pretty much. Because all we did was win conference championships year in, year out as a staff (at James Madison). We win. And so it was a clashing of two worlds. And I wasn’t gonna lower my standards”.
His first task was to get the fans on board, “Wake ‘em up, create expectation, buzz and excitement”. In just his second day in the job, he delivered a memorable motivational speech after being introduced to the crowd before the basketball team’s matchup with Maryland: “I’m super fired up about this opportunity. I’ve never taken a back seat to anybody and don’t plan on starting now…“Purdue sucks! But so does Michigan and Ohio State…Go IU!”
“There’s no magic here,” he explains about the Hoosiers dramatic turnaround. “It’s fundamentals. You know, I would like to think the leader, which is me, knows what he’s doing, and has a blueprint, and a plan. Create the intangibles on your football team, the culture, the mindset, the philosophy on how you wanna play”.
Cignetti and the Hoosiers take on the winners of Alabama vs Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day hoping to make more history - the last time they were here was back in 1968, when the team lost to the USC Trojans. The program’s last bowl victory was the Copper Bowl in 1991.
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