He leads granddaddy of all transformations

Cignetti took Indiana program with most losses and built it into a Rose Bowl favorite.

- ANTHONY SOLORZANO

INDIANA COACH Curt Cignetti has gotten buy-in from his players, many of whom were lightly recruited.

Curt Cignetti knows winning. No matter where he finds himself, whether it’s James Madison or with the Division II IUP Crimson Hawks, success follows him.

Since getting the opportunity to lead a program, Cignetti has never had a losing season.

When Indiana hired him in November 2023, the Hoosiers were the program with the most all-time losses in college football history, and ended the season with a 3-9 record under Tom Allen.

It wasn't a work in progress, the Hoosiers football program needed to be rebuilt.

On New Year's Day, Indiana will face Alabama in the highly anticipated Rose Bowl matchup. The Crimson Tide have a rich postseason history and a tradition of championships, but the Hoosiers are the favorites to win.

That is the Cignetti effect.

In two years, he trans formed the program from an unranked team, spending most of its time at the bottom of the Big Ten Conference, to the No. 1 team in the country with a Heisman-winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza.

“When he speaks, it means something,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said.