Indiana's Curt Cignetti Honored as AP Coach of the Year

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When Curt Cignetti accepted the head coaching position at Indiana last fall, he confidently promised immediate success.

This was not mere bravado.

After encouraging skeptics to explore his impressive winning record, the son of a Hall of Fame football coach has indeed fulfilled his promise. He led the Hoosiers to a school-record 11 wins, achieving a top 10 ranking and securing an unexpected playoff berth that culminated in a Friday night face-off against No. 3 Notre Dame.

Cignetti was honored as The Associated Press Coach of the Year on Tuesday, receiving 30 out of 45 votes from AP Top 25 voters. Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham came in second with eight votes, while Oregon's Dan Lanning garnered five and SMU's Rhett Lashlee received two.

“Thank you to The Associated Press for this tremendous team honor,” Cignetti said. “Our program has had a great season and we look forward to opening the College Football Playoff against Notre Dame on Friday.”

Few anticipated such a remarkable season at Indiana, especially during Cignetti’s inaugural year. He engineered an eight-win turnaround that captured national attention at a university historically known for its struggles in football.

Cignetti, now 60 years old, has consistently demonstrated his ability to win. Throughout his 14 seasons as a head coach, he has never posted a losing record and is renowned for orchestrating rapid improvements wherever he goes—be it Alabama as Nick Saban’s initial recruiting coordinator or at FCS institutions like Elon and James Madison, where he oversaw one of the most successful transitions from FCS to FBS in NCAA history.

Cignetti has been recognized with conference Coach of the Year awards at IUP, Elon, James Madison, and now in the Big Ten with Indiana. He brought many members of his coaching staff along with 13 players from James Madison to Indiana, leading to results that have surprised many.

“I didn’t know much about him, so I took a minute and Googled him and looked at some of the things he’s done in the past at his other places,” noted Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. “He’s won everywhere he’s been. He’s done a great job.”

The winner between seventh-seeded Notre Dame (11-1) and tenth-seeded Indiana will advance to face second-seeded Georgia (11-2) in the quarterfinals.

Cignetti is making history as the first Indiana coach to receive this prestigious award since its establishment in 1998. His predecessor, Tom Allen, finished second in 2020 after leading the Hoosiers to a commendable 6-2 record and their second consecutive January bowl game while finishing ranked No. 12.

This season has been particularly historic for both Cignetti and the Hoosiers (11-1), who achieved an unprecedented start by winning their first ten games—the first time any Indiana coach has achieved double-digit wins in a single season.

Indiana demonstrated its dominance with significant victories including their largest margin ever at home against Western Illinois (77-3) and two other substantial wins over Nebraska (56-7) and rival Purdue (66-0).

Ten out of their eleven victories came by margins exceeding 14 points; they only trailed during one game—an encounter against then-No. 2 Ohio State—and showcased themselves as not just high scorers but also formidable on defense: leading all playoff teams with an average of 43.3 points per game while boasting the sixth-best scoring defense (14.67 points allowed) and number one run defense (70.8 yards per game) in FBS.

“This team’s accomplished a lot; I’m proud of what they’ve accomplished,” said Cignetti. “I think the coaches have done a great job; players have done a great job. But no one’s satisfied—everyone is eager for more.”