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Indianapolis Star
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
After a historic season, Curt Cignetti has a clear message for Indiana football
BLOOMINGTON — When the Big Ten convenes its annual football media days, this time in the late July Las Vegas heat, Indiana will arrive a curiosity to the league like it has rarely been in living memory. The Hoosiers shocked the conference and the country last season, winning 11 games on the way to an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Attrition and, perhaps, the irresistible pull of history have conspired to depress expectations somewhat from the lofty success of 2024. But broadly speaking, everyone still expects IU to be a difficult proposition this fall. How difficult will be determined by Curt Cignetti, his largely intact staff and a roster reinforced once again through the transfer portal. Talking points in Vegas will include a new quarterback, a new quarterbacks coach, some defensive turnover and how exactly a program with no historical point of comparison builds on what it achieved last year. Which has made Cignetti's offseason company line all the more fascinating. As the season begins to come into view, IU's second-year coach has gone well out of his way to make this clear: Indiana is fully and completely on to 2025. 'To me, that's inherent in the blueprint,' Cignetti told IndyStar in a wide-ranging sitdown interview recently. 'Every year, you start over regardless of the previous season. You learn the lessons, whatever lessons are there to be learned, file them away, and you start over again.' In one sense, there is no parallel for what Cignetti will try to do this fall. Indiana so dramatically outperformed both expectations and historical norms that there are no blueprints (to use his word) here. For the Hoosiers, this season will be territory as uncharted as last season became. But Cignetti has a long history of his own to pull from. He needed to pull IU-Pennsylvania back to earth after a 12-win season in 2012, to refocus James Madison after long playoff runs in his first three years, or a share of a Sun Belt title in his fourth. Collector's book on IU's historic run makes a great Father's Day gift When Cignetti talks about shifting his team's focus entirely to what's in front of them, he's not speaking about Indiana, but rather from experience. And this approach is not tailored to bringing a program that flew closer to the sun last season than it ever has before back down toward the relative safety of solid ground. This is how Cignetti restarts his process every season. Learn from the good, digest the bad, move forward purposefully only focused on what's next. 'You learn the lessons of the past,' he said, 'and you use them to your advantage.' Those lessons are easier to capture, Cignetti said, when he's blessed with the staff continuity he secured this offseason. Thanks to further investment from IU's administration, Cignetti not only inked his own eight-year contract but also re-signed every member of his staff save quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, who left for the offensive coordinator job at UCLA. Even when USC tested Indiana's resolve in trying to poach Derek Owings, Cignetti's valued head of strength and conditioning, in late spring, Indiana doubled down to keep Owings in Bloomington. All of which has contributed to meaningful expectation around here for the first time in a long time. IU should begin the season ranked, and oddsmakers setting the win total over/under at 8.5 suggests outsiders still see the Hoosiers as a genuine threat. 'It helps that I've had great staff continuity. We're all on the same page on how we do things,' Cignetti said. 'We all know what we expect, we say it the same way and we demand the same things.' Those demands begin, it seems, with permanently forward focus. Not because of any fear over complacency after last season's historic success. But because Cignetti — a winner wherever he's been as a head coach — doesn't know any better way to do it than to learn from the past, yes, but only have eyes for the horizon.
Indianapolis Star
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
After a historic season, Curt Cignetti has a clear message for Indiana football
BLOOMINGTON — When the Big Ten convenes its annual football media days, this time in the late July Las Vegas heat, Indiana will arrive a curiosity to the league like it has rarely been in living memory. The Hoosiers shocked the conference and the country last season, winning 11 games on the way to an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Attrition and, perhaps, the irresistible pull of history have conspired to depress expectations somewhat from the lofty success of 2024. But broadly speaking, everyone still expects IU to be a difficult proposition this fall. How difficult will be determined by Curt Cignetti, his largely intact staff and a roster reinforced once again through the transfer portal. Talking points in Vegas will include a new quarterback, a new quarterbacks coach, some defensive turnover and how exactly a program with no historical point of comparison builds on what it achieved last year. Which has made Cignetti's offseason company line all the more fascinating. As the season begins to come into view, IU's second-year coach has gone well out of his way to make this clear: Indiana is fully and completely on to 2025. 'To me, that's inherent in the blueprint,' Cignetti told IndyStar in a wide-ranging sitdown interview recently. 'Every year, you start over regardless of the previous season. You learn the lessons, whatever lessons are there to be learned, file them away, and you start over again.' In one sense, there is no parallel for what Cignetti will try to do this fall. Indiana so dramatically outperformed both expectations and historical norms that there are no blueprints (to use his word) here. For the Hoosiers, this season will be territory as uncharted as last season became. But Cignetti has a long history of his own to pull from. He needed to pull IU-Pennsylvania back to earth after a 12-win season in 2012, to refocus James Madison after long playoff runs in his first three years, or a share of a Sun Belt title in his fourth. Collector's book on IU's historic run makes a great Father's Day gift When Cignetti talks about shifting his team's focus entirely to what's in front of them, he's not speaking about Indiana, but rather from experience. And this approach is not tailored to bringing a program that flew closer to the sun last season than it ever has before back down toward the relative safety of solid ground. This is how Cignetti restarts his process every season. Learn from the good, digest the bad, move forward purposefully only focused on what's next. 'You learn the lessons of the past,' he said, 'and you use them to your advantage.' Those lessons are easier to capture, Cignetti said, when he's blessed with the staff continuity he secured this offseason. Thanks to further investment from IU's administration, Cignetti not only inked his own eight-year contract but also re-signed every member of his staff save quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri, who left for the offensive coordinator job at UCLA. Even when USC tested Indiana's resolve in trying to poach Derek Owings, Cignetti's valued head of strength and conditioning, in late spring, Indiana doubled down to keep Owings in Bloomington. All of which has contributed to meaningful expectation around here for the first time in a long time. IU should begin the season ranked, and oddsmakers setting the win total over/under at 8.5 suggests outsiders still see the Hoosiers as a genuine threat. 'It helps that I've had great staff continuity. We're all on the same page on how we do things,' Cignetti said. 'We all know what we expect, we say it the same way and we demand the same things.' Those demands begin, it seems, with permanently forward focus. Not because of any fear over complacency after last season's historic success. But because Cignetti — a winner wherever he's been as a head coach — doesn't know any better way to do it than to learn from the past, yes, but only have eyes for the horizon.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti sees 'a lot uncertainty' in collegiate athletics
BORDEN — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti is eager for some clarity from the governing bodies of college athletics. He anticipates the House v. NCAA settlement to move forward in the coming weeks, but told reporters during an appearance at the athletic department's annual booster dinner at Huber's Orchard & Winery that the coming revenue-sharing framework and NIL clearinghouse won't solve all the issues plaguing collegiate athletics. Advertisement "We need regulation, we need rules, so that we all can plan and do what we are hired to do cause right now there's just a lot of uncertainty," Cignetti said. "How many portal windows are there going to be? When are they going to be? And I could go on and on. We got to get the industry fixed, the game is great. We got to get the industry fixed." The final approval of the settlement won't do much to impact IU football's day-to-day operations. Much of the Power Four was already operating under the proposed revenue-sharing framework back when the portal opened in December. "There was a lot of front-loading of NIL deals, people trying to make transactions before the rev-share did pass because of the NIL Go will go into effect immediately," Cignetti said. "That created a bit of a different world and some anxiety, a little more anxiety than normal." Cignetti is more concerned about the lack of clarity on the other major topics impacting collegiate athletics including the transfer portal and eligibility rules. Advertisement He circled back to the topic when he talked about IU's 2026 signing class. The class currently features nine verbal commitments — Cignetti hinted that there's more to come — but he's still not sure how many players the Hoosiers will take thanks to the lack of overall clarity with the portal windows. "If I just knew when the portal date would be, and what the portal pool would look like, I could figure out whether we are taking 20 or 17 high school guys relative to what our team needs look like next year," Cignetti said. "Right now it's hard to plan cause we can't get any answers." More: Ranking Indiana football's top 5 position groups after spring practice Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti isn't interested in wading into College Football Playoff debate Twelve teams? Sixteen teams? How many automatic bids should each conference get? Should their be automatic bids at all? Advertisement The discussion about the format for the College Football Playoff in coming years has taken center stage at the SEC Meetings this week in Destin, Fla., with commissioner Greg Sankey along with the conference's athletic directors and coaches all weighing in. Cignetti wasn't interested in adding his voice to the growing chorus of opinions on how things should be structured. "I've been part of all the different formats, D2 and FCS, at the end of the day there's one team standing whether you start with 64 or eight — there's going to be one standing at the end, no matter what the number is, somebody is going to feel bad that they got left out," Cignetti said with a smirk. "That's just the way it works, you can't make everyone happy." The closest Cignetti got to weighing in was admitting he likes the tweaks the committee made for next year that include removing the automatic byes for conference champions and goes to a straight seeding format. Advertisement "The straight seeding is a good thing, would have been nice to have that last year and had a home game, 12 and a half point favorite," Cignetti said. "We were still in control of our own destiny and didn't get the job done. If you pinned me down, I'd probably have an opinion, but it's not worth stating." Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti: Collegiate athletics in desperate need of better regulation
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Indiana football: Curt Cignetti wants Hoosiers to tune out the ‘noise and clutter' heading into 2025
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football has been in the eye of the storm since making its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last season. The Hoosiers have been a popular target on social media for fans of teams (mostly in the SEC) who felt like they didn't belong in the 12-team field. Advertisement Those conversations resurfaced this week as the SEC gathered for its annual spring meetings in Destin, Fla., where much of the discussion centered on tweaking the format of the CFP in coming years leading to fans criticizing IU's credentials once again. That's just the tip of the iceberg for what the Hoosiers can expect to deal with this fall as they head into the year dealing with the weight of increased expectations. More: Indiana football to play multiple Friday night games in 2025, other schedule details 'If you want to get into the noise and clutter and BS and social media stuff, you can, but it's not going to affect you positively,' Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said at a recent boost event. 'That's for sure.' Advertisement It's part of the message Cignetti plans on delivering to players this week as they arrive back in Bloomington for summer workouts. 'It's hard to turn it off completely, sometimes you want a sense for what's going on out there, but I think the guys that are able to turn it off for a significant amount of time are putting themselves in position to stay focused on what's important in their development,' Cignetti said. 'When you get a bunch of guys thinking that way then the team benefits as well." Cignetti was just as vigilant about his team's culture last year. As the Hoosiers rattled off 10 straight wins to open the season, he talked about making sure players didn't get the 'warm fuzzies' and start overlooking opponents. He demands a high level of focus from his team from the meeting rooms to the field, and isn't afraid to call them out when they don't meet that standard. He's publicly made a point of criticizing a poor practice effort in the spring each of the last two seasons. Advertisement In 2024, that moment came after a two-day "eclipse holiday.' He was quick to criticize a lackluster effort back in April as well — 'we just didn't have enough juice out there' — even though it was an outlier for how the Hoosiers practice during this year's spring camp. More: 'Get the industry fixed': Why Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti wants 'regulation, rules' 'It's all about controlling the controlables, maximizing your opportunities and improving as much daily as you can,' Cignetti said last week. '...It's stacking meetings, stacking practices and being totally prepared so you play your best individually and collectively…It's the only way to do it.' That focus will be as important as ever this fall as Indiana hopes to maintain its contender status. Advertisement 'We aren't going to sneak up on anybody, but that's OK,' Cignetti said. 'We want every team's best shot, great competitors do.' Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: IU football preps for 2025 season in the spotlight: 'We aren't going to sneak up on anybody'
Indianapolis Star
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana football wants 'every team's best shot,' knowing they're no longer a surprise
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football has been in the eye of the storm since making its first College Football Playoff appearance last season. The Hoosiers have been a popular target on social media for fans of teams (mostly in the SEC) who felt like they didn't belong in the 12-team field. Those conversations resurfaced this week as the SEC gathered for its annual spring meetings in Destin, Florida, where much of the discussion centered on tweaking the format of the CFP in coming years leading to fans criticizing IU's credentials once again. That's just the tip of the iceberg for what the Hoosiers can expect to deal with as they head into the year dealing with the weight of increased expectations. 'If you want to get into the noise and clutter and BS and social media stuff, you can, but it's not going to affect you positively,' IU football coach Curt Cignetti said at a recent booster event. 'That's for sure.' It's part of the message Cignetti plans on delivering to players this week as they arrive back in Bloomington for summer workouts. 'It's hard to turn it off completely, sometimes you want a sense for what's going on out there, but I think the guys that are able to turn it off for a significant amount of time are putting themselves in position to stay focused on what's important in their development,' Cignetti said. 'When you get a bunch of guys thinking that way then the team benefits as well." Need a Father's Day gift? Relive IU football's culture shock with our book Cignetti was just as vigilant about his team's culture last year. As the Hoosiers rattled off 10 straight wins to open the season, he talked about making sure players didn't get the 'warm fuzzies' and start overlooking opponents. He demands a high level of focus from his team from the meeting rooms to the field, and isn't afraid to call them out when they don't meet that standard. He's publicly made a point of criticizing a poor practice effort in the spring each of the last two seasons. In 2024, that moment came after a two-day "eclipse holiday.' He was quick to criticize a lackluster effort back in April as well — 'we just didn't have enough juice out there' — even though it was an outlier for how the Hoosiers practice during this year's spring camp. 'It's all about controlling the controllables, maximizing your opportunities and improving as much daily as you can,' Cignetti said. '... It's stacking meetings, stacking practices and being totally prepared so you play your best individually and collectively … It's the only way to do it.' That focus will be as important as ever this fall as Indiana hopes to maintain its contender status. 'We aren't going to sneak up on anybody, but that's OK,' Cignetti said. 'We want every team's best shot, great competitors do.'
