Curt Cignetti’s first appearance at Big Ten Media Days was in 2024. The new head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers raised eyebrows and drew derisive chuckles from opposing fans and media members when he confidently claimed his program would be back at Lucas Oil Stadium to close the season and compete for a Big Ten Championship. IU fell just short in 2024 but made good on his promise in 2025, invading Lucas Oil Stadium and winning the Big Ten title en route to a 16-0 campaign. Curt Cignetti is now 27-2 as the head coach at IU but his approach and that of his staff is largely more of the same.
“Our Monday meeting will still be the same as it was eight years ago, if it’s not word for word, it’s pretty damn close,” Cignetti told the assembled media from the podium in Chicago at his third Big Ten Media Days. “The way we practice, it’s pretty similar to the way we did it eight years ago. All we do is win.”
In short, why would he change something that is so clearly working?
Curt Cignetti made it clear that he was focused on the coming season but he did expound a bit on what made last season’s national champions so special.
“What separated last year’s team from other good teams I have had is that it was the most consistent football team I’ve ever been around,” Cignetti said of the 16-0 Hoosiers.
All of the work assembling a new roster and blending the new pieces with the returning pieces points to Wednesday as Fall Camp officially kicks off the 2026 season. With a gleam in his eye and a look of determination set on a face that is now entering year number 44 in college football, Cignetti spoke about getting his new team ready for the marathon of the campaign.
“I’m really excited to get the team together and start developing them. I think we really excel at development and it’s all about development, okay. Player development, team development, positional development and developing the intangibles, the mindset and the identity of your football team.”
Indiana lost standout players like Fernando Mendoza, Elijah Sarratt, Omar Cooper Jr., Aiden Fisher and many others as well as other experienced veterans and important pieces. The cupboard is far from bare as guys like Khobie Martin, Charlie Becker, Carter Smith, Rolijah Hardy and Isaiah “Bones” Jones are joined by newcomers like Nick Marsh, Josh Hoover and a slew of defensive line reinforcements to form what is, on paper, the most talented roster on paper ever assembled in Bloomington. Each team is different and every season is a journey of its own. Cignetti touched on how the 2026 Hoosiers will be different while the coaches do everything possible to make sure they maintain the identity he desires for his teams to have.
“It’s different people. So there’s going to be a little bit of a different team, but it’s going to be more same than different. All of our teams have been successful because they’re more similar than different. We don’t turn it over, we play smart, all three phases play off each other, we stop the run, we run the ball, we’re good in the red area, touchdown percentage, 3rd and 4th down percentage. Those are things I want to continue to do, the faces just change a little bit. The tweaks, probably the average fan doesn’t notice the tweaks, to be honest with you, which are things that we do that we think will give our players the best chance schematically.”
Fans can try to begin spotting those tweaks on the field as the Hoosiers take the field as reigning national champions on September 5 as they welcome the North Texas Mean Green to Bloomington.
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