For years, Indiana football was a program overshadowed by its basketball legacy, and the program was rarely heard of in the competitive Big Ten Conference. That all changed in 2024, when the Hoosiers stormed to an 11-1 record, earned a No. 10 seed in the College Football Playoff, and announced themselves as a legitimate contender.
Speaking to Athlon Sports, an anonymous Big Ten coach pointed to a combination of bold leadership and smart roster moves as the driving forces behind Indiana’s transformation.
The Hiring of Curt Cignetti: A Bold Move That Paid Off
When Indiana tapped Curt Cignetti as head coach ahead of the 2024 season, it was a gamble that paid off in spades. The anonymous Big Ten coach didn’t mince words: “They invested heavily in NIL and support. Cig [Curt Cignetti] is a fantastic coach, obviously, but he wouldn’t come without that commitment. That’s how they succeeded immediately,” they told Athlon Sports.
Cignetti came to Bloomington with an impressive resume, having gone 52-9 at James Madison, where he turned the Dukes into an FCS juggernaut. His hiring signaled a shift in ambition for a program that hadn’t seen a winning season since 2020.
Cignetti’s impact was instant. In his debut season, Indiana notched 11 wins, a feat the program hadn’t accomplished since 1967. The Hoosiers capped the regular season with a 38-15 rout of rival Purdue, reclaiming the Old Oaken Bucket and securing their first-ever playoff berth.
“Everyone is asking who the next Indiana is, but there’s no real reason why it isn’t Indiana again. Will they win as many games? Probably not, but they’re going to be in the hunt for a playoff spot again,” an anonymous coach added, with the increased investment in resources, that decisiveness gave the coach the tools to reshape the roster.
Strategic Use of the Transfer Portal Boosted Talent Level
Cignetti didn’t waste time leaning on his past connections and the transfer portal to revamp Indiana’s roster. “They brought in a few studs from James Madison, and they’ve worked the portal well,” the anonymous coach noted in the Athlon Sports piece.
Ahead of 2024, Indiana added 29 transfers, including quarterback Kurtis Rourke from Ohio University. Rourke, a proven commodity from the MAC, threw for 3,200 yards and 28 touchdowns in his first season as a Hoosier, earning a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team.
The transfer haul didn’t stop there. Indiana bolstered its offensive line with tackles like Carter Smith from Michigan State and guard Drew Evans from Wisconsin, cutting sacks allowed from 28 in 2023 to just 12 in 2024. “The MAC quarterback [Kurtis Rourke] is pretty solid,” the anonymous coach said, highlighting how these additions elevated Indiana’s offense.
Defensively, linebacker Aiden Fisher, another James Madison transfer, led the team with 95 tackles and brought tenacity to a unit that had been soft in prior years. Cignetti’s willingness to overhaul the roster was a game-changer, turning a middling team into a well-oiled machine.
A Culture Shift Transformed Mindset and Performance
Before Cignetti arrived, Indiana football was stuck in a rut of low expectations. Three straight losing seasons had left the fanbase disengaged and the players down. Cignetti saw it right away.
“I was on campus for about 10 minutes, and I could detect the doom and gloom,” he told ESPN’s Jen Lada. “That night at the basketball game, I felt like I had to wake these people up.” His brash confidence, epitomized by his “Google me” quip during a recruiting pitch, lit a fire under the program.
That spark translated to the field. Players bought into Cignetti’s vision, and it showed in their resilience. Running back Justice Ellison, a transfer from Wake Forest, said it best: “I saw how passionate Coach Cignetti was. That’s what I wanted to be a part of. I want to be a part of, when all else fails, when we put our mind to it, no matter what the record was before, we can change it. We can turn it around. That was it for me.”
KEEP READING: Curt Cignetti Teases Surprise Change for Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza This Season
Indiana’s 24-21 upset of Michigan in 2024, sealed by a late field goal, was a statement of that newfound grit. Cignetti’s leadership didn’t just change the scoreboard; it changed the identity of Indiana football.
Increased NIL Funding Gave Indiana a Recruiting Edge
One less obvious but critical factor in Indiana’s turnaround was its investment in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) funding.
According to a chart shared by former Penn State tight end Adam Breneman on X, Indiana’s NIL collective funding soared to $13.6 million in 2024, matching the likes of Penn State and putting them just behind Big Ten heavyweights like Ohio State ($20.2 million) and Michigan ($13.0 million). That’s a significant leap for a program that wasn’t even on the NIL radar a few years ago.
Indiana raising $13M in NIL funding in 2024 is wild. Same amount as Penn State.
Great work by @CCignettiIU.
Money = WINS! pic.twitter.com/R2QsCnfegm
— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) December 10, 2024
This financial boost gave Cignetti the resources to attract top talent through the transfer portal and retain key players. While schools like Texas ($22.2 million) and LSU ($20.1 million) still outpaced them, Indiana’s budget still placed them firmly in the upper tier of Power 5 programs, a far cry from when they struggled to compete financially.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and baseball!
