LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — You can send all those reports that Indiana University football coach Curt Cignetti was a flight risk for Auburn, West Virginia, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Florida or any other potential job opening directly to the shredder.
IU athletic director Scott Dolson and university president Pamela Whitten targeted Cignetti as their guy to fix Hoosier football a year ago, and on Saturday morning the school announced Cignetti agreed to a new contract that could keep him in Bloomington for eight more years.
The deal, which will run through Nov. 30, 2032, will pay Cignetti an average annual compensation of $8 million per season, plus a $1 million per year retention bonus.
The school will also increase the salary pool for assistant coaches and Indiana has been discussing upgrades to its football facilities.
The Hoosiers are 10-0, one of four unbeaten team in the nation. They are ranked No. 5 in the College Football Playoff poll while delivering the best season in program history. IU's unexpected success this season made Cignetti a prime candidate for any Power 4 conference jobs that will open over the next month.
IU does not play Saturday but will travel to Columbus to play No. 2 Ohio State next Saturday at noon, in a game that will be televised by WDRB.
Here is part of the IU athletic department release on Cignetti’s contract:
“Since arriving on campus, Coach Cignetti has been the architect of one of college football’s greatest turnarounds and has shown the world that IU is also a football school,” said Indiana University President Pamela Whitten. “Coach Cignetti exemplifies IU's goal to win in all that we do. The success he has brought to Indiana football is shining a light on all that is amazing about Indiana University. We are excited that Coach Cignetti and his wonderful family will be a part of the Hoosier Nation for many years to come."
“I am beyond appreciative for the tremendous commitment, confidence, and support from President Pam Whitten and Athletic Director Scott Dolson. Manette and I love Bloomington and are grateful for how the IU community has embraced us,” said Cignetti. “I look forward to leading this outstanding program and doing my part to continue the momentum for Hoosier football."
“After first meeting Coach Cignetti, we were very confident that he was the perfect fit for what we were trying to build with our football program,” said IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson. “We were confident IU could become a winning program and we love what he’s building here. We love the student-athletes that he’s bringing here. We love how our fanbase has rallied around this team and made Memorial Stadium the place to be on Saturday afternoons. And now, we love the fact that he’s going to be doing all those things right here in Bloomington for a long, long time.”
In his first year in Bloomington, Cignetti has taken a program that won a total of three Big Ten games in the previous three seasons to a level of success that IU football has never enjoyed. The Hoosiers 10-0 start this fall is the best in school history, while the 10 wins represent the first 10-win season in the program’s history.
Indiana’s current No. 5 national ranking, meanwhile, is one spot shy of the school’s all-time best of No. 4 set in both 1945 and 1967. Cignetti has accomplished this with a team that has dominated opponents on both sides of the ball. IU ranks second nationally in scoring offense (43.9), seventh in scoring defense (13.8), 16th in total offense (453.2), and third in total defense (255.5).
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