Curt Cignetti’s run at Indiana has gone from impressive to downright historic-and he’s not done yet.
In just over two years at the helm, Cignetti has completely transformed the Hoosiers from a perennial afterthought into a national powerhouse. This season, the accolades keep stacking up.
He’s already been named Big Ten Coach of the Year and earned three national coach of the year honors. On Monday, he added a fourth to his résumé: the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year.
That makes back-to-back AFCA honors for Cignetti, an unprecedented feat since the award was first handed out in 1935. No other coach in the award’s 90-year history has pulled that off. That’s not just a nod to what he’s done this year-it’s a statement about sustained excellence.
And what a year it’s been. Cignetti led Indiana to its first-ever 12-0 regular season, capped by a monumental win over then-No.
1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship on Dec. 6.
That victory didn’t just secure a conference title-it sent shockwaves through the college football world. For a program that had never even sniffed this level of success, it was a breakthrough moment.
At the heart of Indiana’s rise is redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who made more than just program history-he made national headlines. On Saturday, Mendoza became the first Indiana player to win the Heisman Trophy, a fitting individual honor in a season where the Hoosiers’ offense was electric and their quarterback was the steady hand guiding it.
Cignetti now joins elite company in Indiana football history. He’s the fourth Hoosiers coach to win AFCA Coach of the Year, following Bo McMillin (1945), John Pont (1967), and Tom Allen (2020). But unlike his predecessors, Cignetti has done it twice-and in back-to-back seasons.
Now, Indiana sits atop the college football rankings for the first time ever. The Hoosiers are the No. 1 team in the nation, and they’re heading to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl on Jan.
- Awaiting them will be either No.
8 Oklahoma or No. 9 Alabama-two bluebloods with championship pedigrees.
But make no mistake: Indiana belongs on that stage.
This isn’t a Cinderella story anymore. Under Curt Cignetti, Indiana is writing a new chapter-one where they’re not just competing with the best, but beating them.