Curt Cignetti’s run at Indiana has already rewritten the school’s football record book, and the way things look now, it may not be done making history.
What he inherited in Bloomington was a program with the most losses in college football history. What he turned it into, in just two seasons, is something Indiana fans had never seen before. Under Cignetti, the Hoosiers have produced the only 10-win seasons in program history, and the success has come fast and loud.
Last season was the peak so far. Indiana finished a perfect 16-0, beat Ohio State to win the Big Ten Championship, then rolled through the Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl on the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship. It was the kind of year that changes how a program is viewed, and Cignetti’s overall track record in Bloomington has kept building from there.
The numbers tell the story. Indiana had won three bowl games before Cignetti arrived, and he has already matched that total.
The Hoosiers were in the AP Poll 21 times before his arrival; under Cignetti, they’ve already been ranked 19 times. That side-by-side drew plenty of attention on June 29, 2026, when Big Ten Football posted: “Stunning side-by-side 😲 pic.twitter.com/IwFrSb5neO”
Cignetti’s overall record at Indiana now sits at 27-2, a jaw-dropping mark that explains why the Hoosiers are being treated like a program built to stay near the top.
And that’s the next part of this story: Indiana doesn’t look like a one-year wonder. The formula Cignetti has used is built for staying power.
He hasn’t needed a roster loaded with blue-chip recruits. Instead, he’s leaned into identifying the right players, especially experienced ones who may have been overlooked elsewhere, then putting them in position to thrive.
That approach has paid off again and again, and it has been especially effective in the transfer portal. In a college football landscape where portal success can make or break a season, Cignetti has become the standard at Indiana. LSU head coach Lane Kiffin may call himself “The Portal King,” but Cignetti’s work in Bloomington has made a strong case that the title belongs elsewhere.
Now, with the 2026 season approaching, Indiana is being projected as a College Football Playoff team and a legitimate national title contender. That would have sounded far-fetched when Cignetti first arrived. Now it feels like the baseline.
There’s even a real chance the Hoosiers open the year ranked No. 1 in the Preseason AP Top-25 Poll, a stunning marker for how far the program has come in such a short time. Two years ago, that kind of expectation would have sounded like a dream. Under Cignetti, it’s just the new reality in Bloomington.
In Other News...
Indiana Just Landed A Massive National Spotlight Moment
Indiana has a fresh national-stage reminder that its recent rise has reached beyond Bloomington. ESPNs early 2026 ESPY nominations put multiple Indiana-connected figures in the spotlight, with former Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza drawing notice in two separate individual categories and the football program earning a place among the nations top teams. Add former IU basketball standout OG Anunoby to the list, and it becomes a pretty strong showing for an athletic department that has been pushing itself back into bigger conversations.
Mendozas double nomination speaks to how quickly his profile has grown, while the football teams presence in the Best Team field gives the program another platform after a perfect championship run. Indiana will have plenty of company among the nominees, with the category crowded by recent winners and title teams, but just getting into that mix says plenty about where the Hoosiers stand right now. The only real question is how much more hardware this burst of attention can bring back to Bloomington when the awards are handed out. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Just Lost Another Experienced Arm To The Portal
Indianas pitching depth took another hit this offseason as an experienced arm moved on after one year in Bloomington. The left-handed reliever had already bounced from Delaware to Indiana, and he entered the portal after his latest stop with the Hoosiers, part of the wider roster churn that has become a constant for programs trying to keep veteran bullpen pieces in place.
His departure adds another layer to Indianas search for reliability on the mound, especially with a pitcher who had already logged a few seasons of college baseball and could give a staff some stability. Instead, he is headed to USC for his fifth collegiate season, while the Hoosiers are left to sort through another turnover point as the roster continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Vaughn Karvala Faces One Big Test To Earn Indiana Minutes
Vaughn Karvala arrived at Indiana with the kind of profile that usually gets attention right away: a highly regarded freshman who committed and signed in November and brings the athleticism and scoring pop that made him one of the more intriguing names in the class. For the Hoosiers, though, the excitement around his arrival comes with an immediate reality, since freshmen are walking into a roster built around experienced transfers who have already spent multiple years at the high-major level.
That makes Karvalas path to minutes less about reputation than readiness. His talent gives Indiana another upside piece to develop, but the first challenge is simply finding a way to break into the rotation ahead of older, more seasoned options. The Hoosiers will keep watching how he adjusts, because his role could grow quickly if he shows he can handle the physical side of college basketball and keep his game translating against adults. [Read more 🡒]