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Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti has once again surpassed expectations, earning him the prestigious honor of college football Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. This achievement marks the first time since the award’s inception in 1998 that a coach has won in back-to-back years. Cignetti joins an elite group of four coaches, including Brian Kelly, Gary Patterson, and Nick Saban, who have won the accolade twice.
At 64 years old, Cignetti boasts an impressive 24-2 record over two seasons since taking the reins of Indiana’s football program. Before his arrival from James Madison University, Indiana was known as one of the most struggling programs in major college football. Under his leadership, the Hoosiers have reached unprecedented heights, highlighted by last year’s 10-win start, a peak AP ranking of No. 5, and their appearance in the College Football Playoff first round.
This season, Cignetti has exceeded even those accomplishments. Indiana achieved an undefeated 13-0 regular season, clinched the Big Ten championship for the first time since 1967, and earned the No. 1 spot in the AP poll—the program’s first-ever top ranking. Additionally, the Hoosiers secured the top seed in the College Football Playoff and produced their first Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who was also honored as the AP player of the year.
In voting for the Coach of the Year award among a panel of 52 nationwide media members covering college football, Cignetti won decisively, receiving 47 first-place votes. Other contenders included Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, who garnered two first-place votes each, and Virginia’s Tony Elliott, who received one.
The significance of Cignetti’s turnaround of the Indiana football program cannot be overstated. In 2022, the Hoosiers became the first Football Bowl Subdivision team to reach 700 all-time losses, entering this season with 714 losses—a record since surpassed by Northwestern. Prior to Cignetti’s tenure, Indiana had never recorded more than nine wins in a single season. Now, they have recorded double-digit wins in back-to-back years and completed a regular season unblemished by defeat for the first time.
Cignetti previously stated that his team was striving to compete with Ohio State both in recruiting and on the field. Their 13-10 victory over the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game not only marked a milestone but also signaled a new era for the program. Reflecting on the win, Cignetti said, “It’s another step we need to take as a program. It’s a great win, obviously. And we’re going to go into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. A lot of people probably thought that wasn’t possible. But when you get the right people and you have a plan, and they love one another and play for one another and they commit, anything’s possible.”
