Curt Cignetti retains key member of Indiana football staff pursued by Big Ten rival
BLOOMINGTON — IU signed football's head strength coach, Derek Owings, to a new three-year deal on improved terms Friday, amid interest from Southern Cal.
Owings, who has been with Curt Cignetti for several years dating back to Cignetti's time at James Madison, has routinely been described by his coach as among the most important members of Cignetti's staff.
As recently as Thursday, during an appearance at a Boys and Girls Club fundraiser in Bloomington, Cignetti called Owings — whose official title is director of athletic performance, football — 'cutting edge' in his approach to strength and conditioning.
Owings attended that fundraiser with Cignetti. And more than once during the 2024 season, which for Indiana ended in the College Football Playoff, Cignetti cited Owings as a key pillar to his program's success.
All of which led USC to express serious interest in tempting Owings west to join Lincoln Riley's reclamation project in University Park.
Since November, Indiana has inked Cignetti to a robust eight-year contract and handed out more lucrative deals to nearly all his assistants. Owings himself got a raise to $635,000 per year in that round of new contracts last winter. His refreshed contract now becomes the latest example of that commitment.
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