I agree dispositive in becoming the elite 25 or 30. That only wins the NC once every 25 or 30 years though.
Cig won the NC in year two. What’s that dispositive of?
@hhlurker top tier coaching coupled with top tier money. you have to have both.
@bar-down Except it hasn't been top tier money. Not even close to the top, as reflected in Aloha's post. CBS Sports also reported recently that "the Hoosiers were not one of the top spenders in the sport when they won it all — not even close."
Same with Mendoza individually. His IU offer was just 55% of what the top suitor offered. (He has confirmed he had an offer from Georgia, but he hasn't specifically identified them as the school that made the massive offer; we can probably make that assumption, though). He turned down millions to play for Cignetti.
Mendoza's mom wanted him to go to IU but she didn't have to twist his arm very hard. He had the benefit not only of seeing Alberto develop in one year under Cignetti, but he also became aware of the incredible development achieved by five consecutive QBs who had played for Cignetti (Kurtis Rourke and QBs at JMU).
estimates but estimated iu is spending with the elite schools. we have big bucks donors in wagner cook. largest alumni base. it's a game changer
Also having the money to spend gets you in the game. There are no guarantees spending money on a player is going to pan out the way you hope. It's a worthwhile investment to spend money on a top transfer or a 4/5 star recruit, but you just never know for sure.
IU is comfortably in that threshold of being able to spend what it takes to get the best players. A lot of schools are not even in the conversation.
@big-ryan he still got $2.6 mil. wake ain't paying that.
this is elite money. that's elite spending. and from inside info i know wagner/cook dropped real money. and mendoza still got $2.6 mil. bowl i liken it to soccer. because duh. you can put some great teams together. very very solid teams. but the elite teams always have guys who are clutch in the final third. the big money players. doesn't matter if it's epl or shitty old mls. those handful of players that cost more that take you from good to elite. the difference makers.
and imo that's the difference here too. cig has the money to get those players to be elite. without it he'd be great. solid. not beating ohio state nd as he couldn't in 24
@big-ryan htere's always the anomalous leicester city. but it's rare. and rarely sustainable. money is always the difference maker. then throw in a good coach like a cig next thing you know you've taken man city from obscurity to the best team in the world
We're middle of the pack conference in terms of revenue and spend. Cig had the money to make a sizeable offer to Mendoza, but it still fell well short (55%) of the top suitor. On paper, it wasn't a competitive offer.
Mendoza turned down millions to play for Cignetti because he knew Cignetti was better for his development and future than Kirby Smart and Mario Cristobal. With the same $ offer and no Cig, Mendoza doesn't come to IU.
estimates but estimated iu is spending with the elite schools. we have big bucks donors in wagner cook. largest alumni base. it's a game changer
We have a ton of rich grads so combined with Cig's winning formula, we've got ourselves a contender.
I appreciate you going out on a limb and labeling us a contender. I feel the same way, but didn’t have the balls to say it.
I agree. You have no balls.
@big-ryan and i do think youll see that from time to time. but he also still got $2.6mil. the link i showed indicates we were at a very high level with nil. and this year we spent $4 mil on a qb who is one of the top 8 most expensive players in football. if money doesn't matter why spend it? let's just get two stars from terre haute and coach em up.
We're middle of the pack conference in terms of revenue and spend. Cig had the money to make a sizeable offer to Mendoza, but it still fell well short (55%) of the top suitor. On paper, it wasn't a competitive offer.
Mendoza turned down millions to play for Cignetti because he knew Cignetti was better for his development and future than Kirby Smart and Mario Cristobal. With the same $ offer and no Cig, Mendoza doesn't come to IU.
I don't think anyone is arguing that Cignetti isn't a good coach that players want to play for. Even if Mendoza took less money, IU was still in the conversation because of the money they have to spend. I'm sure there a lot of good coaches out there that don't have the warchest IU now has. That money kept and will keep them in the conversation of national title contender. Obviously Cignetti is part of the overall package of playing at IU.
@ohio-guy that iu war chest wiped out a century of ineptitude and the legacies of better situated programs all over the country
We're middle of the pack conference in terms of revenue and spend. Cig had the money to make a sizeable offer to Mendoza, but it still fell well short (55%) of the top suitor. On paper, it wasn't a competitive offer.
Mendoza turned down millions to play for Cignetti because he knew Cignetti was better for his development and future than Kirby Smart and Mario Cristobal. With the same $ offer and no Cig, Mendoza doesn't come to IU.
I don't think anyone is arguing that Cignetti isn't a good coach that players want to play for. Even if Mendoza took less money, IU was still in the conversation because of the money they have to spend. I'm sure there a lot of good coaches out there that don't have the warchest IU now has. That money kept and will keep them in the conversation of national title contender. Obviously Cignetti is part of the overall package of playing at IU.
I don't think there's a massive amount of disagreement here. It's money and coaching. We just differ on relative importance. I view Cig as much more than "part of the overall package." He's the key piece, IMO, and what sets us apart from other programs.
Available money to spend on football players obviously varies from school to school, but every P4 program has millions to spend on athletes. Areas of emphasis and specific allocations are up to the schools.
IU had a QB need in 2025. IU was in play for Mendoza because, like every other major program, they had big money to spend but, more importantly, because they had a coach who had just completed an amazing season with a QB (an injured one at that) from little Ohio U who Cignetti and Shanahan transformed into a Sunday league player. They had previously turned other QBs into MVP players at JMU. Without that history, there is no way IU lands Mendoza at QB.
Lost in this discussion is that our roster had many guys who had been unheralded coming out of high school, and there were no bidding wars for their talents. Aiden Fisher was a zero-star recruit with no Power offers as an 18 year-old. Haines and Cig transformed him into an All-American at IU and he's on the Texans' roster. Last season IU lost defensive end/edge rusher Kellan Wyatt, a 3-star out of high school, to injury. He was replaced by 2-star Stephen Daley. Daley got hurt celebrating the win over OSU and was replaced by 3-star Daniel Ndukwe. Wyatt and Daley were outstanding. Ndukwe had a monster game against Oregon in Atlanta.
Talent recognition, character recognition, player development. That's Cig's stock-in-trade. Second to none. You can't put a price on it.
P.S. Good luck in the election!
Cignetti has won (and won Big) everywhere he’s been a Head Coach; with or without full scholarships and without or with NIL money…
End of Story …
Google Him. 😉😎🇺🇸