Curt Cignetti lands contract bonus for blowout win over UCLA

No. 2 Indiana kept on rolling Saturday afternoon with its 56-6 drumming of UCLA in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have now won 19 of their 21 games under head coach Curt Cignetti since the beginning of the 2024 season.

Cignetti, who led Indiana to its fifth Big Ten win of the season on Saturday, will get a $100,000 bonus for the feat. Indiana now sits at 8-0 (5-0) and looks well on its way to making a second consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti will get $100,000 bonus as Hoosiers pick up
5th Big Ten win of the season by routing UCLA.

Cignetti now has $300,000 in bonuses so far this season.

— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) October 25, 2025

Just like week, Cignetti signed a massive extension with the program amid rumors linking him to head coaching vacancies at Penn State and Florida. He agreed to a new eight-year contract with an average annual compensation of approximately $11.6 million. The contract will run through Nov. 30, 2033.

“At Indiana University, we are committed to performing at the highest levels in everything we do, and no one has exemplified that more than Coach Cignetti,” said Indiana University President Pamela Whitten in a statement. “Put simply, Cig is a winner.”

“From last year’s College Football Playoff appearance to this year’s top-3 national ranking, the IU Football program’s success has been tremendous. Curt and Manette Cignetti are home in Indiana and we are delighted that the Cignetti family will be Hoosiers for many years to come.”

Before agreeing to a new contract with the school, Cignetti was earning $8.3 million this season, without bonuses included. The figure ranked 18th in college football and No. 7 in the Big Ten.

Cignetti’s new salary of $11.6 million will be the third-highest in the country, only trailing Ohio State‘s Ryan Day and Georgia‘s Kirby Smart. Indiana felt the pressure to secure Cignetti’s long-term future with lucrative jobs coming available, and it did just that.

In the win over UCLA on Saturday, quarterback Fernando Mendoza continued to cement his case as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Mendoza completed 15/22 passes for three touchdowns, while tossing just one interception. Two running backs (Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black) totaled at least 70 yards on the ground, and the vaunted Hoosier defense held what was a red-hot UCLA offense to just 201 yards.

With four regular season games remaining (none against ranked opponents), Cignetti and the Hoosiers look well on their way to an undefeated regular season. This would put them in the Big Ten Championship Game for the first time in program history.