Curt Cignetti looking to build on 2024 success, take Indiana from good to great

The 2024 season for the Indiana Hoosiers will go down as the best in program history, as Curt Cignetti‘s team compiled an 11-2 (8-1) record and made an appearance in the College Football Playoff.

This didn’t come without controversy however, as the Hoosiers didn’t topple a single ranked team in the regular season and got throttled 38-15 by Ohio State in their lone top-25 matchup. They however squeaked into the CFP, where they fell to eventual runner-up Notre Dame 27-17 in a First Round matchup.

Cignetti’s first season was historic to say the least, as it marked the program’s first 10-plus win season EVER. He discussed looking to build on last season’s success and taking Indiana from a “good program” to a “great program” at this week’s Big Ten Media Days event.

“Last year’s success has helped us in so many different ways,” Cignetti said. “It’s helped the university with fundraising at all levels, academic and athletic. Indiana has the second largest alumni base in America to Texas, so there was a lot of Hoosier pride out there. Obviously it opened a lot of doors in the recruiting process because the first year we were selling promises and things we had accomplished in the past. Now we put it on the field and now we have better looking athletes walking through the doors. Okay, ow that’s all done all done.”

Cignetti cites last season as ‘vital’ for recruiting

“Last year’s done. Now all the coach Cignetti pictures in the building on gamely, get them off the walls. All that stuff. Everything is earned, not given now. Nothing good in life comes easy. What’s cheap won’t last, and what lasts isn’t cheap. You’ve got to pay the price every day and do it consistently. And when you’re good, you’ve got to have that burning desire to be great. 98% of this game is between your ears.”

The 2025 season will however look much different for the Hoosiers, as quarterback Kurtis Rourke has departed for the NFL. Indiana replaced him with California transfer Fernando Mendoza, who Cignetti also admitted they wouldn’t have landed without their 2024 season.

“Oh, quite a bit,” Cignetti said when discussing how vital last year’s success was for recruiting. “There’s no doubt about it. I think without that success, you don’t land a Fernando Mendoza or a Pat Coogan or some of the other guys we were able to get.”

Indiana opens its 2025 season at home against Old Dominion on August 30. The Hoosiers should be 3-0 (with wins over Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Illinois State) when it hosts Illinois in Bloomington on Sep. 20 in what will likely be a top-15 clash.