CHICAGO - Curt Cignetti has spent decades building a coaching blueprint, but the part about becoming a national celebrity clearly wasn’t in the plan.
The Indiana coach said Wednesday at Big Ten Media Days that the attention coming his way after winning a national title caught him off guard.
"I'm a little surprised by that, honestly," Cignetti said.
The flood of interest began after Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami in the national title game. From there, the requests kept coming - interviews, media appearances and other opportunities - even though Cignetti turned down most of them.
Still, a few big moments stuck. He drove the Indy 500 pace car.
He became a face for the latest version of EA Sports’ college football video game. And he recently filmed a State Farm commercial that is expected to air at the start of the 2026 season.
That kind of visibility has reached beyond the usual football circles. Cignetti said fans even recognized him while he was on vacation in St. Barts, a reminder of how quickly both his profile and Indiana’s have risen.
"I think those moments is when I do that because I'm always a little taken back by, wow, you've got to be kidding me," Cignetti said.
At 65 - or, in his words, a "geriatric" - Cignetti says age and experience have helped him keep his balance. He didn’t get his first head coaching job until he was 50, and he’s spent his adult life around the sport. Growing up as a coach’s son also gave him an early education in how fast the business can turn.
"I know how temporary this is," Cignetti said. "You can be a hero one week and all of a sudden lose a game, people hate you."
So even with the spotlight brighter than ever, his offseason routine didn’t change much. He spent a lot of his free time in his office, watching film on the projector and preparing for what he hopes becomes another deep playoff run.
"It's nice," Cignetti said of the attention. "But I also know that we don't hold up our end of the bargain. I'll be hunting effigy next fall."
In Other News...
Indiana Just Lost A Former Top Recruit At The Worst Time
Indianas edge rotation took a hit with fall camp approaching, as a redshirt freshman defender has decided to enter the transfer portal after spending his first year in Bloomington without appearing in a game during the Hoosiers national championship run. The move, first reported by On3s Pete Nakos and later confirmed through the players social media statement, comes after the former three-star recruit arrived with plenty of long-term promise but never got on the field.
The timing is the part that stands out for Indiana, even if the roster picture is not suddenly bleak. The Hoosiers still have multiple options at EDGE between returning players and incoming transfers, so this is less about a collapse in depth than an unwelcome loss of a young body just as the season gets closer. Still, any portal departure this late in the summer forces a staff to adjust, and it leaves one more open question about how the position group will settle in once camp begins. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Fans Are Watching A Massive Recruiting Decision Unfold
Landen Williams-Callis is set to make one of the bigger recruiting calls in this cycle on Saturday, and the highly regarded running back from Richmond, Texas, has spent the run-up to his announcement looking every bit like a national target. With around 70 offers and multiple official visits behind him, he has been one of the most closely tracked backs in the country, the kind of prospect whose decision can ripple well beyond one fan base.
For Indiana, the intrigue is obvious because a player with that level of attention brings both talent and credibility to whichever program lands him. Williams-Callis has also backed up the recruiting hype with a standout high school career, piling up huge production as both a runner and receiver, and now the focus shifts to where all of that momentum will take him next. [Read more 🡒]
Another Pamela Whitten Payout Will Infuriate Indiana Fans
Indiana Universitys trustees are again rewarding president Pamela Whitten, with the boards compensation committee unanimously approving a $250,000 bonus that matches the maximum allowed under her contract. Whitten now makes $1 million a year after a $100,000 raise approved in February, and the latest payout fits a pattern that has become familiar around campus governance in Bloomington.
The timing is what will rankle many IU fans and faculty members who have watched the board keep backing Whitten through a tenure marked by repeated controversy. The trustees have continued to approve bonuses even as criticism of her leadership has lingered, and the last one came at a June 2025 meeting with only one dissenting vote, a reminder that the boards support has remained firm while frustration elsewhere has only grown. [Read more 🡒]