Latest news with #Cignetti
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti sees 'a lot uncertainty' in collegiate athletics
BORDEN — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti is eager for some clarity from the governing bodies of college athletics. He anticipates the House v. NCAA settlement to move forward in the coming weeks, but told reporters during an appearance at the athletic department's annual booster dinner at Huber's Orchard & Winery that the coming revenue-sharing framework and NIL clearinghouse won't solve all the issues plaguing collegiate athletics. Advertisement "We need regulation, we need rules, so that we all can plan and do what we are hired to do cause right now there's just a lot of uncertainty," Cignetti said. "How many portal windows are there going to be? When are they going to be? And I could go on and on. We got to get the industry fixed, the game is great. We got to get the industry fixed." The final approval of the settlement won't do much to impact IU football's day-to-day operations. Much of the Power Four was already operating under the proposed revenue-sharing framework back when the portal opened in December. "There was a lot of front-loading of NIL deals, people trying to make transactions before the rev-share did pass because of the NIL Go will go into effect immediately," Cignetti said. "That created a bit of a different world and some anxiety, a little more anxiety than normal." Cignetti is more concerned about the lack of clarity on the other major topics impacting collegiate athletics including the transfer portal and eligibility rules. Advertisement He circled back to the topic when he talked about IU's 2026 signing class. The class currently features nine verbal commitments — Cignetti hinted that there's more to come — but he's still not sure how many players the Hoosiers will take thanks to the lack of overall clarity with the portal windows. "If I just knew when the portal date would be, and what the portal pool would look like, I could figure out whether we are taking 20 or 17 high school guys relative to what our team needs look like next year," Cignetti said. "Right now it's hard to plan cause we can't get any answers." More: Ranking Indiana football's top 5 position groups after spring practice Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti isn't interested in wading into College Football Playoff debate Twelve teams? Sixteen teams? How many automatic bids should each conference get? Should their be automatic bids at all? Advertisement The discussion about the format for the College Football Playoff in coming years has taken center stage at the SEC Meetings this week in Destin, Fla., with commissioner Greg Sankey along with the conference's athletic directors and coaches all weighing in. Cignetti wasn't interested in adding his voice to the growing chorus of opinions on how things should be structured. "I've been part of all the different formats, D2 and FCS, at the end of the day there's one team standing whether you start with 64 or eight — there's going to be one standing at the end, no matter what the number is, somebody is going to feel bad that they got left out," Cignetti said with a smirk. "That's just the way it works, you can't make everyone happy." The closest Cignetti got to weighing in was admitting he likes the tweaks the committee made for next year that include removing the automatic byes for conference champions and goes to a straight seeding format. Advertisement "The straight seeding is a good thing, would have been nice to have that last year and had a home game, 12 and a half point favorite," Cignetti said. "We were still in control of our own destiny and didn't get the job done. If you pinned me down, I'd probably have an opinion, but it's not worth stating." Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti: Collegiate athletics in desperate need of better regulation
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Indiana football: Curt Cignetti wants Hoosiers to tune out the ‘noise and clutter' heading into 2025
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football has been in the eye of the storm since making its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last season. The Hoosiers have been a popular target on social media for fans of teams (mostly in the SEC) who felt like they didn't belong in the 12-team field. Advertisement Those conversations resurfaced this week as the SEC gathered for its annual spring meetings in Destin, Fla., where much of the discussion centered on tweaking the format of the CFP in coming years leading to fans criticizing IU's credentials once again. That's just the tip of the iceberg for what the Hoosiers can expect to deal with this fall as they head into the year dealing with the weight of increased expectations. More: Indiana football to play multiple Friday night games in 2025, other schedule details 'If you want to get into the noise and clutter and BS and social media stuff, you can, but it's not going to affect you positively,' Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said at a recent boost event. 'That's for sure.' Advertisement It's part of the message Cignetti plans on delivering to players this week as they arrive back in Bloomington for summer workouts. 'It's hard to turn it off completely, sometimes you want a sense for what's going on out there, but I think the guys that are able to turn it off for a significant amount of time are putting themselves in position to stay focused on what's important in their development,' Cignetti said. 'When you get a bunch of guys thinking that way then the team benefits as well." Cignetti was just as vigilant about his team's culture last year. As the Hoosiers rattled off 10 straight wins to open the season, he talked about making sure players didn't get the 'warm fuzzies' and start overlooking opponents. He demands a high level of focus from his team from the meeting rooms to the field, and isn't afraid to call them out when they don't meet that standard. He's publicly made a point of criticizing a poor practice effort in the spring each of the last two seasons. Advertisement In 2024, that moment came after a two-day "eclipse holiday.' He was quick to criticize a lackluster effort back in April as well — 'we just didn't have enough juice out there' — even though it was an outlier for how the Hoosiers practice during this year's spring camp. More: 'Get the industry fixed': Why Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti wants 'regulation, rules' 'It's all about controlling the controlables, maximizing your opportunities and improving as much daily as you can,' Cignetti said last week. '...It's stacking meetings, stacking practices and being totally prepared so you play your best individually and collectively…It's the only way to do it.' That focus will be as important as ever this fall as Indiana hopes to maintain its contender status. Advertisement 'We aren't going to sneak up on anybody, but that's OK,' Cignetti said. 'We want every team's best shot, great competitors do.' Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: IU football preps for 2025 season in the spotlight: 'We aren't going to sneak up on anybody'
Indianapolis Star
6 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana football wants 'every team's best shot,' knowing they're no longer a surprise
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football has been in the eye of the storm since making its first College Football Playoff appearance last season. The Hoosiers have been a popular target on social media for fans of teams (mostly in the SEC) who felt like they didn't belong in the 12-team field. Those conversations resurfaced this week as the SEC gathered for its annual spring meetings in Destin, Florida, where much of the discussion centered on tweaking the format of the CFP in coming years leading to fans criticizing IU's credentials once again. That's just the tip of the iceberg for what the Hoosiers can expect to deal with as they head into the year dealing with the weight of increased expectations. 'If you want to get into the noise and clutter and BS and social media stuff, you can, but it's not going to affect you positively,' IU football coach Curt Cignetti said at a recent booster event. 'That's for sure.' It's part of the message Cignetti plans on delivering to players this week as they arrive back in Bloomington for summer workouts. 'It's hard to turn it off completely, sometimes you want a sense for what's going on out there, but I think the guys that are able to turn it off for a significant amount of time are putting themselves in position to stay focused on what's important in their development,' Cignetti said. 'When you get a bunch of guys thinking that way then the team benefits as well." Need a Father's Day gift? Relive IU football's culture shock with our book Cignetti was just as vigilant about his team's culture last year. As the Hoosiers rattled off 10 straight wins to open the season, he talked about making sure players didn't get the 'warm fuzzies' and start overlooking opponents. He demands a high level of focus from his team from the meeting rooms to the field, and isn't afraid to call them out when they don't meet that standard. He's publicly made a point of criticizing a poor practice effort in the spring each of the last two seasons. In 2024, that moment came after a two-day "eclipse holiday.' He was quick to criticize a lackluster effort back in April as well — 'we just didn't have enough juice out there' — even though it was an outlier for how the Hoosiers practice during this year's spring camp. 'It's all about controlling the controllables, maximizing your opportunities and improving as much daily as you can,' Cignetti said. '... It's stacking meetings, stacking practices and being totally prepared so you play your best individually and collectively … It's the only way to do it.' That focus will be as important as ever this fall as Indiana hopes to maintain its contender status. 'We aren't going to sneak up on anybody, but that's OK,' Cignetti said. 'We want every team's best shot, great competitors do.'
Indianapolis Star
29-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
'Get the industry fixed': Why Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti wants 'regulation, rules'
BORDEN — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti is eager for some clarity from the governing bodies of college athletics. He anticipates the House v. NCAA settlement to move forward in the coming weeks, but told reporters Wednesday during an appearance at the athletic department's annual booster dinner at Huber's Orchard that the coming revenue-sharing framework and NIL clearinghouse won't solve all the issues plaguing collegiate athletics. "We need regulation, we need rules, so that we all can plan and do what we are hired to do cause right now there's just a lot of uncertainty," Cignetti said. "How many (transfer) portal windows are there going to be? When are they going to be? And I could go on and on. We got to get the industry fixed, the game is great. We got to get the industry fixed." The final approval of the settlement won't do much to impact IU football's day-to-day operations. Much of the Power Four was already operating under the proposed revenue-sharing framework back when the portal opened in December. "There was a lot of front-loading of NIL deals, people trying to make transactions before the rev-share did pass because of the NIL Go will go into effect immediately," Cignetti said. "That created a bit of a different world and some anxiety, a little more anxiety than normal." Cignetti is more concerned about the lack of clarity on the other major topics impacting collegiate athletics, including the transfer portal and eligibility rules. He circled back to the topic when he talked about IU's 2026 signing class. The class currently features nine verbal commitments — Cignetti hinted that there's more to come — but he's still not sure how many players the Hoosiers will take thanks to the lack of overall clarity with the portal windows. "If I just knew when the portal date would be, and what the portal pool would look like, I could figure out whether we are taking 20 or 17 high school guys relative to what our team needs look like next year," Cignetti said. "Right now it's hard to plan cause we can't get any answers." Insider: How 'Operation Bigfoot' brought Hoosier the bison back to life. Why IU finds value in mascot Twelve teams? Sixteen teams? How many automatic bids should each conference get? Should their be automatic bids at all? The discussion about the format for the College Football Playoff in coming years has taken center stage at the SEC Meetings this week in Destin, Florida, with commissioner Greg Sankey along with the conference's athletic directors and coaches all weighing in. Cignetti wasn't interested in adding his voice to the growing chorus of opinions on how things should be structured. "I've been part of all the different formats, DII and FCS, at the end of the day there's one team standing whether you start with 64 or eight — there's going to be one standing at the end, no matter what the number is, somebody is going to feel bad that they got left out," Cignetti said with a smirk. "That's just the way it works, you can't make everyone happy." Also in Borden: Will Luke Goode, Anthony Leal play for IU basketball next season? Where eligibility stands The closest Cignetti got to weighing in was admitting he likes the tweaks the committee made for next year that include removing the automatic byes for conference champions and goes to a straight seeding format. "The straight seeding is a good thing, would have been nice to have that last year and had a home game, 12 and a half point favorite," Cignetti said. "We were still in control of our own destiny and didn't get the job done. If you pinned me down, I'd probably have an opinion, but it's not worth stating."
Indianapolis Star
28-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
How much it costs to keep 'cutting edge' Indiana football staffer from joining Big Ten rival
BLOOMINGTON — Derek Owings' new contract with Indiana, signed in early May, places him among the top five highest-paid strength coaches in America. Per a USA Today database, Owings' new salary — $925,000, with $400,000 in base salary and the rest in outside compensation — ranks third nationally behind only Oklahoma State's Rob Glass and Alabama's David Ballou. Owings also received a third year on his contract, which now runs through May 1, 2028. That marks a significant increase on the $635,000 per year Owings was scheduled to make per the terms of an improved contract signed last winter, in the afterglow of IU football's appearance in the College Football Playoff. The university at that time rewarded Curt Cignetti and nearly every member of his staff (Tino Sunseri left for UCLA) with new deals after the Hoosiers reached a program-record 11 wins in 2024. Owings, who has been with Cignetti since his time at James Madison, is often cited by his coach as a key cog in Cignetti's winning process. 'Derek Owings is a guy I've got a lot of confidence in,' Cignetti said in February 2024. 'Strength and conditioning has really changed through the years. It's become a very scientific thing. I think he's on the cutting edge, gets great results. I have 100% confidence in him. I don't mess with him. That's his area. I let him go.' Cignetti's confidence transformed into outside appeal, in the wake of that playoff run. Owings was reportedly a serious candidate for the same position under Lincoln Riley at Southern Cal earlier this spring. That prompted IU to offer Owings improved terms, which he accepted May 2. In addition to his base salary and outside, marketing and promotional income (OMPI), Owings can earn bonuses for a variety of team-performance benchmarks. He receives 10% of his base salary, for example, if IU reaches a bowl game and he remains employed at the time that game is played. Owings also receives 12% of his base salary if IU reaches nine wins, 15% if the Hoosiers get to 10 wins and 20% if they reach 11 wins. Other bonuses include appearances and success in both the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff. All bonuses are payable only if Owings remains employed at the time of the game in question. Insider: How 'Operation Bigfoot' brought Hoosier the bison back to life. Why IU finds value in mascot His new contract also affords Owings meaningful buyout protection. IU would owe 100% of his guaranteed annual compensation if Owings is fired without cause before the end of his contract, subject to mitigation. The university would also owe him six months' guaranteed income if Cignetti left or was fired. Owings would likewise owe Indiana if he chooses to break his contract early. He's required to pay 50% of remaining guaranteed compensation if he leaves before April 20, 2027, and 30% of the same if he leaves May 1, 2027-May 1, 2028. This deal makes Owings the third highest-paid member of Cignetti's staff, behind only coordinators Mike Shanahan and Bryant Haines. Offensive line coach Bob Bostad earns slightly less, at $900,000 per year.
