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Mark Schlabach
Indiana has reached a new eight-year contract with Curt Cignetti, which will make him one of the highest-paid football coaches in the FBS with an annual average salary of about $11.6 million, the university announced Thursday.
Cignetti guided the Hoosiers to a 10-2 record and a surprising College Football Playoff appearance in his first season at the school in 2024. This season, the No. 3 Hoosiers are 6-0 heading into Saturday’s game against Michigan State.
Cignetti, 64, was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year by several organizations in 2024. The Hoosiers are 17-2 under Cignetti, including an 11-1 record against Big Ten opponents.
On Oct. 11, the Hoosiers stunned then-No. 3 Oregon 30-20 on the road. It was Indiana’s first victory against a top-five opponent since upsetting then-No. 3 Purdue 19-14 in 1967.
The new deal with Cignetti goes through the 2033 regular season.
“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,” Indiana University President Pamela Whitten said in a statement. “Put simply, Cig is a winner. From last year’s College Football Playoff appearance to this year’s top-three national ranking, the IU football program’s success has been tremendous.”
Cignetti, who previously coached at James Madison, Elon and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, was expected to be one of the hottest commodities on the market before signing an extension with the Hoosiers.
In Bloomington to stay. ✍️
🔗: https://t.co/y9cinJXwps pic.twitter.com/kVFx6AbeM7
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) October 16, 2025
“We are committed to investing in IU football in such a way that we can compete at a championship level, and the No. 1 priority in doing that is ensuring that Coach Cignetti is the leader of our program,” Indiana athletics director Scott Dolson said in a statement. “His accomplishments during the last season and a half have been nothing short of remarkable. As much as anyone, he believed in what was possible with our program, and he’s turned that belief into reality.”
Utilizing the transfer portal, Cignetti has transformed the once-woebegone Hoosiers into a Big Ten title contender. Indiana had never won 10 games in a season before his arrival in the 127-year history of the program. The Hoosiers hadn’t had a winning record since going 6-2 in the 2020 season, which was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hoosiers went 9-27 in three seasons under Tom Allen before Cignetti’s hiring.
