Curt Cignetti changed the football at Indiana. Pete Thamel says Memorial Stadium still has some catching up to do.
That was the blunt takeaway from Thamel’s visit to Bloomington in late February, when he looked at the Hoosiers’ home field and didn’t exactly see a title-stage backdrop for a newly crowned champion.
“I pull up, put my car in park. It's like a blustery late-February, early-March day. I look at that stadium, and I just said to myself, 'I can't believe they're going to hang a national championship banner in that dump,'" Thamel said on the College GameDay podcast’s Big 10 contenders preview episode.
He said he wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, but the point was clear: Memorial Stadium does not scream glamour. Indiana’s 53,524-seat home opened in 1960 for $4.5 million and got a 2018 renovation worth $53 million that added new locker rooms and video boards. Even after that work, the building itself still doesn’t stand out as anything especially striking.
That matters now because Indiana is no longer the program everyone used to dismiss. When the Hoosiers beat Miami 27-21 in January to win the College Football Playoff National Championship, they finished off one of the wildest title runs modern sports has seen.
They had lost 27 games in the three seasons before Cignetti arrived. Then they went 16-0.
A school that had more losses than any other program in FBS history was suddenly a consensus national champion.
Cignetti made sure the football side of the operation rose fast enough to match it. In his first year, when Indiana went 11-2 and reached the playoff, he pushed for facility changes rather than waiting around for them.
By his second season in 2025, the Hoosiers had better meeting rooms, upgraded offices for Cignetti’s film-heavy routine, a new trophy case, and a dedicated place being built for the 2025 national championship trophy. There was even a spot set aside for a Heisman Trophy if one ever comes to Bloomington again.
The bigger renovation picture is still unfolding. In late 2025, athletic director Scott Dolson brought in St.
Louis-based HOK as master planner for the west side of Memorial Stadium. That project is aimed at the fan experience, seating, and revenue.
Indiana also surveyed fans on what they want most, including wireless internet, cell service, and a better sound system; improved concessions, bathrooms, and curb appeal; more comfortable seating and premium options at different price points; and broader changes to the stadium’s appearance and crowd flow.
Dolson has already made clear the financial reality. With revenue sharing taking more than $20 million annually out of operating budgets, the department can’t simply pay for capital work out of regular expenses. So Indiana is looking at personal seat donations, naming-rights opportunities like the existing Merchants Bank field agreement, and even jersey sponsorships.
Cignetti has also talked openly about what comes next. On the Pat McAfee Show in 2024, he said the stadium could someday grow to 80,000 seats by building up the east side.
Then in June 2026, he told Adam Breneman that the expansion is coming, just not all at once. He also said the old west side press box would be replaced during his time there.
For now, Indiana is trying to keep pace with the standard it set on the field. The Hoosiers are 27-2 over the last two years and defending their title in 2026 with one of the top rosters in the country.
The football program is already there. The building around it is still getting there.
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Hardys value has been about more than chasing ball carriers. He has shown the kind of versatility that gives a defense flexibility, from a pick-six in the 2024 spring game to coverage plays that stood out during the previous season. The question for Indiana is no longer whether Hardy can make impact plays. It is how much more he can carry when the Hoosiers ask him to become the standard everyone else is measured against. [Read more 🡒]