Curt Cignetti gets new $92.8 million contract after turning Indiana into title contenders
Indiana is officially no longer just a basketball school.After quickly turning the Hoosiers football program from an afterthought to a national championship contender in less than two seasons, the school announced Thursday it has given head coach Curt Cignetti an eight-year, $92.8 million contract extension, ending speculation that he could jump to Penn State as a replacement for the recently fired James Franklin.The deal makes Cignetti the third highest-paid college football coach in the nation behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($13 million per year) and Ohio State’s Ryan Day ($12.5 million per), according to CBS Sports.Cignetti, 64, took over the program in 2024 after coaching James Madison and immediately took the Hoosiers from 3-9 to 11-2 and a College Football Playoff appearance.They’re currently 6-0 and ranked No.3 in the country after a huge road victory against Oregon last Saturday.“At Indiana University, we are committed to performing at the highest levels in everything we do, and no one has exemplified that more than Coach Cignetti,” Indiana president Pamela Whitten said in a release.
“Put simply, Cig is a winner.From last year’s College Football Playoff appearance to this year’s top-3 national ranking, the IU Football program’s success has been tremendous.
Curt and Manette Cignetti are home in Indiana and we are delighted that the Cignetti family will be Hoosiers for many years to come.”Indiana won its first 10 games last year under Cignetti before falling to Ohio State on the road, and they were eliminated by Notre Dame in the first round of the playoff.The Hoosiers have a great chance at finishing the regular season undefeated with games remaining against Michigan State, UCLA, Maryland, Penn State, Wisconsin and Purdue.Cignetti has helped turn transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza into a Heisman candidate, with the junior throwing for 1,423 yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions so far this year....