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Theres been no noise to block out for IUFB. Cig could've won 8 games last year and 10 this year and we'd all be smitten. Of course we love winners. How does the fanbase treat anything less than instant success? Apathy is preferable to tantrums, at least.

They were rightfully booed going into halftime against Iowa IIRC. The Crean era is a better illustration of the "mythical," as you put it, standard that IU fans erroneously cling to. Don't feel like cracking that can of worms right now since it's basically been 10 years already. It is what it is. Buckle up and enjoy 2-3 more seasons of DDV at least, fellas :)

Football and basketball program are in two completely different stratospheres right now. Obviously fans gush over a winner.

I think we can agree that vibes matter, right? Woody's vibes were especially terrible and did a lot of damage to much of the IUBB fanbase imo. The majority of the blame certainly is on the AD/coaches we've had here. We don't directly affect what happens on the court. However; IUBB has essentially been pre-Cig IUFB for the entire lifetime of all the players coming up right now. Yet, fan expectations are still largely shaped by the Knight era standards. All the "bad" stuff IU fans do, happens at other schools with hungry fanbases too. This is true. At the end of the day, a university is a community and if you don't feel like the community has your back through the highs and lows, you're probably going to look out for yourself. And it's hard to blame them for that. We are just like most mediocre power conference programs now. There's nothing special about playing basketball for Indiana in 2026. If we can't tolerate anything less than instant success, the vibes will continue to be terrible around the program. That doesn't mean tolerate 4 years of bad basketball. It's not our call to make anyway as fans. All we can contribute toward are the vibes. And I think a new staff is owed positive vibes from the university community until they've proven they don't deserve them. DDV made mistakes with this team, that doesn't mean we should **** on everything he and the program does because we're upset they're not meeting the standard yet. That said, the forums are definitely the place for venting about that. Not in players mentions on Twitter or IG comments lol. It's better to say nothing at all than pop off with frustration aimed at players IMO.

People who are quick to completely dismiss comments from former players about what it's like to play at IU are not ready for this conversation lol

I absolutely love the Woodlawn Field idea.

Idk, probably. Things don't always go perfectly according to plan. Oh well. Better luck next time.

You feel confident saying DDV is a crap coach? Based solely on 19 games at Indiana?

Cig is 1 of 1. Stevens isn't coming lol. May isn't coming. Pearl isn't coming. Etc. No good coach is going to let a hungry fanbase dissuade them from taking a good job. Everyone will have their own preferences and priorities for a job. We wasted time with Archie and Woodson. DDV should get 3 years (probably will get at least 4) to put a compelling product on the floor and if he doesn't he should go. IU basketball is really not in the national spotlight and hasn't been since Zeller basically IMO. All the talk about this program being on life support is just dramatics from us hardcore fans. We're not relevant in the national conversation and haven't been for some time. The IUBB we all picture in our heads is dead. There's no urgency to save it because it's dead and buried. A new iteration needs to eventually take its place. If DDV doesn't work out, we'll just be back to looking for a young up and comer. That was the Archie hire. The Woody hire, I guess, was trying to juice the fanbase (more likely a favor to a buddy). The DDV hire is the same up and comer type of hire Archie was. That's probably the pond IU has to fish in for basketball coaches. Maybe that changes eventually if DDV can deliver. If he can't, the AD needs to figure out where they're going wrong. Like maybe get someone with 10+ years experience as a HC next time. Or maybe DDV will figure it out, if the fans can find it in their hearts to forgive the stinker of a season this is. In the meantime fans should feel free to tune out from basketball until it's worth watching and celebrate our wildly successful football program.

He was paid to coach on a 6 year contract, which is why no matter how much some fans would be in favor of it, there's literally zero chance he is gone after this year barring serious transgressions. Guess we could just sign coaches to 1 year contracts with an option to renew until we find "the guy" - in the name of keeping fans engaged - and see how that works out for us. Lol.

For sure. And I think it was reported early on that DDV is not super well-known in coaching circles? I'm paraphrasing but something to the effect of him not being one for much shmoozing with his peers, which would jive with what we see from him personality wise. In his long career, he's only been at Creighton, Drake and WVU. Seems like his first options for assistants chose not to come and then it was scramble mode. Which makes me kinda doubt that there are staff changes made this offseason, lest you end up in the same position where you're not 100% staffed for the portal. Really have no way of knowing how big / good his network actually is, though seems not very.

1) I highly doubt Cig ever wins just 8 games here to be completely honest. 2) DDV hasn't even been a HC for a full decade. This is his second year of power conference basketball. He's going to make mistakes and he needs to learn from them. I don't see much reason to doubt he will. Hopefully he can execute better this time around. 3) He hasn't coached 20 games here yet and people already think the base case is an inevitable firing after year 3? Really? We don't even know who is on next year's team lol (yes that's part of what's driving the anxiety). Some folks seem very paper handed by nature. That's okay. But white knuckling the entire DDV era, how ever long it lasts, doesn't seem like a fun way to experience IUBB fandom. 4) If our basketball NIL is really 10M and that's competitive with the rest of the market (albeit not leading), keep it exactly where it is and give every surplus dollar to football in perpetuity until basketball earns it, whoever the coach is.

Is his Heisman speech the best ever?

Lol. I love our nerdy QB.

I think the 2019 LSU vs 2025 Indiana comes down to how you view the question... better team as in more likely to win in a hypothetical head to head? Or, in terms of what actually happened, who had the better season? I am not as interested in hypotheticals as I am in reality. And there's an extremely strong case to be made that 2025 Indiana had the best season ever in all of CFB history.

I am happy Lee Corso got to see this.

It literally made me jump out of my seat and scream. Have to agree with you. The way he stood in there after the missed targeting call when Thomas hit him so hard... how he ran through Bissainthe who had the controversial hit on him at Cal last year... so many ways in which that play was amazing. Not least of which being papa Mendoza, who stayed seated with his wife basically all year, couldn't help but stand to watch that play. And what a play it was. Fernando always talks about how he would die on the field for his team. I believe that. He showed us all year. I hope the Raiders (or wherever he lands) get some solid OL to protect that extremely smart noggin of his. Look forward to watching that young man flourish on and off the field.

I cry like a toddler every time I see THE Mendoza dive and his parent's reaction in the stands. Without a doubt one of the greatest stories in the history of sports. No exaggeration. That just fills my Hoosier heart.

No coach in power conference basketball should think they can "wait" until year 5 to make the tourney and I'm sure DDV doesn't. I know you mention that because that's when Hoiberg finally made it at Nebraska, but it's not like he wasn't trying before then... They stuck with him because he was making progress YoY. And more importantly, they're a football school like we are so fans were focused on that and basketball could take the time needed to build with a decent/good coach. We have more historic success than Nebraska, but since 2010, it's basically potato pota-toe IMO. We need to see progress YoY and if we don't then DDV should definitely be out the door after 3 years IMO (still think he's likely to get the guaranteed IU 4 years). Fans will be discontent if things don't turnaround next year I'm sure. But I don't think we're paying for the buyout and doing this all over again any time soon when he's Scott's guy. IMO, it's almost disrespectful to what Cig is building to still fixate on basketball as much as our fanbase is. Yes, we can and should expect to be good at both, but with such success in football... I can be patient in basketball as long as it's headed in the right direction. We are off to a bumpy start, but I'm not convinced it's a train off the rails yet by any means.

Us 80 Them 72

Yep. Indirectly related to the narrative about "if IUFB can do it, anyone can do it." Ummm... I mean, maybe, in theory. But practically? We had the perfect storm. 1) Unprecedented support from the highest levels of the university 2) amazing staff continuity 3) bringing a core of your best players 4) the benefit of extremely low expectations 5) Curt Cignetti is probably the best CFB coach today. Good luck replicating all that. The point is, literally any program that hired Cig would've been extremely lucky. Really lacks nuance to say "well Cig did it (possibly the GOAT in his sport) why can't DDV?" IMO far too early to call for DDV's head or even wonder if Dolson got "unlucky" with him. Woody was still holding the office keys when he got here lol. Didn't have the staff ready on day 1 (that's definitely a big screw up and on DDV) which ruined our first portal effort. So the first season is shot no matter how good or bad he is as a coach. Remains to be seen here IMO. Definitely a major set back to his start here. But look at what Hoiberg is doing at Nebraska in his 7th year there. And yes, IU and Nebraska are comparable basketball programs in 2026. Realistically, we just have to hope next year's roster is up to par. Sometimes it takes time... and for a myriad of reasons, not least of which is financial, DDV is going to get time. Coaches make mistakes and I am capable of forgiving them as long as necessary lessons are learned and applied. No sense tormenting ourselves with this season IMO. We are a football school anyway.

Entirely possible. Maybe even likely IMO

In all seriousness, when can we expect the Cignetti and Mendoza dive statues to be put up? Not until Curt officially hangs it up? These are necessary IMO

So just fire him now?

Considering Tucker lost the single mother who raised him just last year to cancer, the idea he brought up Fletcher's deceased father is complete BS by Miami fans