Curt Cignetti has become more than a coach at Indiana. He’s turned into a reference point, a measuring stick, and in some cases, the standard other new hires are being judged against before they even coach a game.
That’s the strange new reality in college football right now: say something bold, and people notice. Win fast, and everybody starts asking whether you’re the next Cignetti.
Kentucky’s Will Stein leaned right into that moment at SEC media day this week. Asked why he believes Kentucky can win - a program with just three double-digit win seasons and two conference titles in its history - the new head coach didn’t dance around it.
“I think because of me, to be honest,” Stein said in front of a packed room. “I think because of me.
I know what it takes. I have seen it at the highest levels.
I know what it takes to recruit at this level.”
Stein, the former offensive coordinator at Oregon, couldn’t pull a “Google me” line because he’s never been a head coach. But the message was still clear: he believes he’s the reason Kentucky can change its trajectory.
Cignetti had already set the tone for this kind of arrival. Early in his IU tenure, he made headlines with fiery remarks at an Indiana basketball game - the one where he said everybody sucks.
Now others are borrowing the same playbook, whether they mean to or not. New UCLA coach Bob Chesney used a basketball-game appearance to fire up Bruins fans, and it happened to come while UCLA was playing Indiana at Pauley Pavilion. Like Cignetti did in a BTN interview when he predicted Indiana would play in the Big Ten title game, Chesney went big with his own promise.
“I did not come here to be average,” Chesney told the UCLA crowd. “I want you to support this thing. Understand what we’re building: we’re about to win a Big Ten championship.”
Not every new coach is trying to make a viral splash. But even the ones who aren’t are getting pulled into the Cignetti conversation anyway.
That’s the effect of the transfer portal era, and maybe more than that, the Cignetti era. Turnarounds are expected to happen faster now, and Indiana’s quick rise has made every new coach answer the same question: if Indiana can do it, why can’t you?
Auburn’s Alex Golesh is already living inside that comparison. Like Cignetti did a couple years ago, Golesh brought several key staff members and several key players from his previous stop at South Florida. That has led plenty of people to wonder whether Auburn could be the next Indiana, including ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, who has long been one of Cignetti’s skeptics.
“To compare it to coach Cignetti and what they did at Indiana, I would say probably, if that’s the expectation, awesome,” Golesh told Finebaum.
“What those guys did in that two-year run that they’ve had so far is unprecedented. This can be, and I’m okay if that’s the expectation, like you come to Auburn, you come to this conference because you want real expectations. So I’m okay with that.
Even at Florida, where the brand is already huge and the trophy case includes three national titles in the last 30 years, Cignetti is being used as the benchmark. Steve Spurrier, the architect of the first of those three championships, said on a podcast after Jon Sumrall was hired that the new coach could have that same kind of presence.
“This guy, he might be a little bit like Curt Cignetti,” Spurrier said. “I mean he is serious and guys are going to play hard, they’re going to play with effort. We’re not going to have 13 on the field, all the kind of stuff.”
Maybe that’s the point now. Cignetti has become the example everyone reaches for - the coach whose early impact is loud enough to shape the way other hires are introduced, discussed, and expected to perform.
And maybe one of them really will have a Cignetti effect of his own.
In Other News...
Sam Alexis Suddenly Feels Like More Than A Peru Addition
Sam Alexis landed in Peru as a late addition to Indianas trip for the FISU America games, a move that gave the Hoosiers a little more frontcourt insurance while they represent Team USA on an international stage. He was needed because Samet Yigitoglu was unable to play, and the timing mattered for a roster that is already operating with just 12 scholarship players, making every available big man more valuable on the road.
For coach Darian DeVries, Alexis is more than a fill-in on a summer trip. His presence gives Indiana a chance to mix and match the front line in ways it otherwise could not, including potentially sliding Aiden Sherrell to the four for more minutes. And with recent NCAA rule changes and legal wrangling creating fresh chatter around Alexis future, his role in Peru has only added to the intrigue surrounding what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
IU Fans Just Got Rare Treatment For The Nebraska Road Trip
Indiana fans heading to Lincoln for the October matchup with Nebraska are getting a rare bit of travel help, as United Airlines is putting a new nonstop roundtrip option on the board for that weekend. The added service links Indianapolis and Lincoln around the Indiana-Nebraska game, giving Hoosier supporters a cleaner path to one of the trickier road trips on the schedule.
The move is part of a broader push by United to meet college football travel demand this season, but it stands out for Indiana because not every away game is getting the same treatment. Washington, Rutgers and Michigan are still on fans to figure out the old-fashioned way, which makes this one-weekend flight feel like a small but notable perk for a fan base that has more reason than usual to travel. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Has One Major O Line Question Heading Into 2026
Indianas offensive line enters 2026 with a familiar kind of spring question: how to replace a veteran center and keep the interior steady. Pat Coogan is gone after moving on to the NFL, and the Hoosiers will lean on returning pieces Drew Evans and Bray Lynch, plus Wisconsin transfer Joe Brunner, to sort out the middle of the line as the offseason unfolds.
The good news for Indiana is that the room is not short on bodies or experience, with Austin Leibfried and Matt Marek also available as depth behind the projected starters. The bigger issue is fit, and the Hoosiers still have to determine which combination gives them the best chance to protect the quarterback and keep the run game on schedule when September arrives. [Read more 🡒]