I was born a Hoosier. As early as I can remember, I was wearing IU gear and supporting our basketball, soccer, and even our horrendous football teams.
Watching my Hoosiers play on Saturday used to be painful. On October 16, 2021, my Dad drove my brother and me up to Bloomington, Indiana so we could watch our 2-3 Hoosiers take on the 6-0, 10th ranked Michigan State. It was freezing, the wind was whipping, and the Hoosiers lost at home, 20-15. Fast forward two years and I was back in Bloomington to watch us open the season against a 7th ranked Ohio State. We lost. 23-3. Leaving the stadium, I heard dozens of Hoosier fans celebrating because we covered the spread.
That was a low point for me and I seriously doubted that we would ever be good. Not great, not national title contenders, I just wanted my team to be good.
After finishing the 2023-2024 season going 3-9 and 1-8 in the Big Ten, Indiana University finally fired Tom Allen, our head coach, after seven miserable seasons.
I remember hearing about the new hire from my Dad. To be honest, I didn’t think much of it. We hadn’t had a good basketball coach in years, so what were the chances IU, a basketball school, hired a good football coach? I figured Curt Cignetti was just someone to fill the role, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Cignetti went to an IU basketball game on December 1st, 2023, the day after he was hired. He hadn’t even been in Bloomington for a day and he couldn’t stand the gloom and despair that surrounded the football program. Cignetti was furious as he walked out onto the court during a timeout. When he got on the mic, he came out firing. “Purdue sucks, but so does Michigan and Ohio State!”
To go after Purdue is one thing. But to go after the two teams that would go on to win national championships in the next two seasons is absurd, especially considering that, in the modern era, Indiana has never been a national championship contender (or even come close).
By saying that at a packed out basketball game with seventeen thousand people, Cignetti lit a fire under the football program. He demanded success. Through his rigorous off-season coaching and utilization of the transfer portal, Cignetti brought Indiana back from the dead.
The Hoosiers opened the 2024 season 6-0. This was unheard of. I remember being in disbelief as I headed up to Bloomington to watch the Hoosiers play for their 7th win of the season against a good Nebraska team. This game was the biggest test for the team so far, and they handled it. I remember the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium that day being off the charts. The commanding 56-7 win gave every IU fan hope for a special season.
Despite a 10-2 season and losses to Ohio State in the regular season and a first round loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff (both teams that played for a national championship that season), this season was a huge success for all Hoosiers. Every IU fan that I know was more excited for football than any other sport. But Coach Cig wasn’t satisfied.
Cignetti recruited heavily out of the transfer portal in the off season. His eye for unrecognized talent led him to recruit a team full of stars out of the transfer portal. Among them, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza. The season that followed was legendary.
As I sat in Assembly Hall, home of the five basketball national championship banners, I watched the football team secure their first national championship win, and Cignetti complete the best program turnaround of any sports team in history.
