Curt Cignetti led Indiana from a three-win team to a national champion in two years, a turnaround that Mike Gundy believes will pressure other coaches in the NIL era.
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Photo of Mike Gundy: © William Purnell-Imagn Images; Photo of Curt Cignetti: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
In just two years, Curt Cignetti transformed Indiana from a three-win program to a national champion. It was a historic turnaround â one Mike Gundy thinks will put pressure on other coaches around the country in the NIL and transfer portal era.
Gundy said he was âshockedâ Indiana was able to win its first-ever national title. But he credited the job Cignetti did upon his arrival in 2024 to set the tone and establish his culture with players who joined him from James Madison. From there, players such as Fernando Mendoza led the championship run.
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But while Cignetti and Indiana made history, Gundy said the championship turnaround could create pressure at other programs for a similar fate. The portal allows coaches to flip rosters quicker, which is why Gundy wondered if athletics departments and donors will expect similar results as Indiana.
âThis era that weâre in in college football that weâre talking about is allowing this to happen,â . âWhat Coach [Cignetti] did at Indiana was amazing from the standpoint that he brought a number of players from James Madison. They instilled his culture that he believed in. He hit a home run with Mendoza. Brings Mendoza in, Mendoza plays like Superman throughout the year and had great work habits, great leadership. He was tough, stayed off social media and was all about ball.
Curt Cignetti transformed Indiana's football program by establishing a strong culture and bringing in players from James Madison, leading to a national championship.
Indiana's championship puts pressure on other college football programs to improve quickly, especially in the context of the NIL and transfer portal.
Key players in Indiana's championship run included Fernando Mendoza, who contributed significantly to the team's success.
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âWhat Coach [Cignetti] did was put a lot of pressure on everybody else in the country because youâre going to have donors that are giving millions of dollars now, youâre going to have administration and athletic directors that are saying, âIf they can do it at Indiana, why canât you do it?â And I think thatâs going to put a lot of pressure on coaches because what he did was truly amazing.â
Curt Cignetti and Indiana won the national championship with 23 additions from the transfer portal, one year after bringing in 31 fresh faces from the open market. But although the title run came at a cost, he recently made it clear IU didnât spend as much as people thought.
In a post on social media, Cignetti confirmed the total cost was ânot even closeâ to $40 million. He then addressed the roster spending further on Andy & Ari On3.
âWhat I will tell you, honestly, okay, is our final number was closer to $15 million than $40 million,â Cignetti said. âNow, obviously, it was somewhere in between.â