CHICAGO — From day one that Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington, something felt different. A football program that had been dormant for years upon years had a coach who exuded nothing but confidence and a passion to reach the top.
For potentially the first time ever, Indiana football had a standard set, an expectation of what was going to fly within the program. Cignetti was never shy about sharing what his standards and expectations were if Indiana was going to be great.
“To be great you gotta have special focus, special commitment, special preparation and discipline, and the ability to say no to some things,” Cignetti said last year. “It requires you to be willing to do more. It means competing and bringing a mindset of excellence to everything you do, it starts with being intentional.”
Turns out, his process works, everywhere he’s gone, he has won. It didn't matter the level of competition, the preseason poll, or what anyone thought about him, his teams found a way to win.
This past season, he just took Indiana to the top of the college football mountaintop, defeating the likes of known powerhouses such as Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon and Miami in the process.
Cignetti has done more for Indiana football in two seasons than anyone has ever done.
When Curt Cignetti stepped on the stage at the 2026 Big Ten Media Days on Thursday, it was clear that success hasn’t stopped him from being the same coach he was when he first started. Still with the same expectations, same goals and the same standards.
“I’m a firm believer in our blueprint,” Cignetti said. “We have a way of doing things … and all we do is win.”
That mindset and confidence that Cignetti exudes, has been backed up every step of the way. In 15 seasons as a college football head coach, his teams have never had a losing record.
Indiana defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker has been with Cignetti since the 2023 season at James Madison. He’s won numerous games, conference championships, and now a national championship. Tucker believes Cignetti is the best coach in college football, and that his standard is set naturally within the team.
“If (winning) is your goal at the end of the day, then you shouldn’t be opposed to buying in at a program such as ours, when we’ve got the best coach in college football,” Tucker said at 2026 Big Ten Media Days. “Every guy buys in naturally, when they see how everyone else around them is working … they don’t want to fall behind or not be a part of it.”
Linebacker Isaiah Jones described the Indiana standard very similarly to Tucker: a player-driven expectation that leads to success.
“Not being up to the standard is not what got us where we went,” Jones said. ”If you’re not up to the standard, one, you’re going to be pulled along, or two, you probably won’t be with the team long.”
Now Indiana is at the top, there is nowhere for the Hoosiers to hide, but if adversity hits this year, Cignetti believes his standard, his blueprint, will stand strong.
“We have a way of doing things,” Cignetti said. “We have a good group of guys and all we do is win.”
One of Cignetti’s biggest talking points throughout his career has been never being too high or too low in anything.
This season, that statement will be put to the test under a bigger microscope than ever before. Indiana is now the reigning national champions, the hunted instead of the hunter, the team with the largest target on its back.
Based on what we know about Curt Cignetti and his track record, it’s business as usual, and despite winning a title, he’s still not satisfied.
