In just two years, Curt Cignetti transformed Indiana from a three-win program to a national champion. It was a historic turnaround – one Mike Gundy thinks will put pressure on other coaches around the country in the NIL and transfer portal era.
Gundy said he was “shocked” Indiana was able to win its first-ever national title. But he credited the job Cignetti did upon his arrival in 2024 to set the tone and establish his culture with players who joined him from James Madison. From there, players such as Fernando Mendoza led the championship run.
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But while Cignetti and Indiana made history, Gundy said the championship turnaround could create pressure at other programs for a similar fate. The portal allows coaches to flip rosters quicker, which is why Gundy wondered if athletics departments and donors will expect similar results as Indiana.
“This era that we’re in in college football that we’re talking about is allowing this to happen,” Gundy said on The Herd. “What Coach [Cignetti] did at Indiana was amazing from the standpoint that he brought a number of players from James Madison. They instilled his culture that he believed in. He hit a home run with Mendoza. Brings Mendoza in, Mendoza plays like Superman throughout the year and had great work habits, great leadership. He was tough, stayed off social media and was all about ball.
“What Coach [Cignetti] did was put a lot of pressure on everybody else in the country because you’re going to have donors that are giving millions of dollars now, you’re going to have administration and athletic directors that are saying, ‘If they can do it at Indiana, why can’t you do it?’ And I think that’s going to put a lot of pressure on coaches because what he did was truly amazing.”
Curt Cignetti and Indiana won the national championship with 23 additions from the transfer portal, one year after bringing in 31 fresh faces from the open market. But although the title run came at a cost, he recently made it clear IU didn’t spend as much as people thought.
In a post on social media, Cignetti confirmed the total cost was “not even close” to $40 million. He then addressed the roster spending further on Andy & Ari On3.
“What I will tell you, honestly, okay, is our final number was closer to $15 million than $40 million,” Cignetti said. “Now, obviously, it was somewhere in between.”