Coach Curt Cignetti to INDIANA... Forever and Ever, Amen!

[Home Jersey]

Cig has a serious eye for detail and IUFB is sort of his creation at the end of the day (those are his words).

The fanbase definitely is spoiled by virtue of the fact we had a perfect season, natty, Heisman winner in his second year here. That is an impossible standard to sustain year over year.

We also don't really know how to win as a fanbase because we haven't had a consistent winner in football or basketball for so long IMO. Some of that he can address with the AD by making improvements to the game day experience, which it looks like is a work in progress but way ahead of where it's been historically. I also think there's a degree of him having to coach the fanbase too on how to be part of a winning culture. 

There are loud outliers online (people tweeting negative things at players / complaining about winning 38-0) and in person (random obnoxious people who don't know how to act, which every school has). Schools with really strong winning cultures kind of self-police that, in person at least. I don't doubt random booing of Hoover gets noticed even if it's not loud. Or that some players families may hear stuff they find offensive and that gets noticed too.  

It doesn't surprise me that Cig and staff pay attention to narratives around the program and get kind of miffed by A) our press corps, who just kinda suck B) some of the ridiculous stuff people come up with, especially after his immediate success.

Doesn't bother me when Cig has comments about the fans or sounds annoyed, even if it's a small portion of the overall fanbase. Some of it I think is more about sending a message to his own players and some of it I think is coaching that fans have to be open to receiving (EX: he referenced how the fans still have the championship hangover) 

[Pagoda]

1 hour ago, Home Jersey said:

We also don't really know how to win as a fanbase because we haven't had a consistent winner in football or basketball for so long IMO. Some of that he can address with the AD by making improvements to the game day experience, which it looks like is a work in progress but way ahead of where it's been historically. I also think there's a degree of him having to coach the fanbase too on how to be part of a winning culture. 

Yea, this really is a fascinating case study.  Never has a fanbase had basically nothing in CFB for 120 years (and not much in MBB for 25 years) suddenly get incredible CFB.  It's happened in MBB, but CFB is a different beast.

I think part of the downside of setting the standard so darn high is the fans adopt it, which makes rough patches kind of annoying for the coach.  Day 1 Cig said I'm changing how people think:  high standards, no self-imposed limitations, either getting better or getting worse, stalk complacency, etc.  People see him ripping players in blowouts in the 4th quarter.  And we've got all these fans new to football listening to and watching this -- and it's working so well.  I can see how some fans think they should have sky high expectations like the coach.

Now, the nuance here is all these messages don't really apply to the fans, whose main job is to cheer and give money.  But, fans will sort of impersonate the coach, especially a charismatic one.

Overall, as I keep saying, I don't think we have any major issues.  The Friday crowd vs. a technically non-marquee opponent was very good.  And we can't forget the playoff takeover 10 months ago.

The good thing is if Cig wants fans to do something, everyone will listen and do it.

[Lebowski]

On 9/27/2026 at 6:44 AM, str8baller said:

That’s crazy to me. I haven’t been to Bloomington for a game in the Cig era. But I think I was on campus for one of the worst football stretches, so it’s hard for me to imagine any IU fan doing anything but enjoying the ride.  
 

I hope my interpretation of Cig coaching through the presser is correct, because I would actually be kind of embarrassed if he’s addressing in-stadium fans. 

You should try to get to a game if you get a chance. A 180 compared to past experiences. A football team that, for the most part, plays sound and does the little things to win. Fun to watch and experience. 

21 hours ago, Home Jersey said:

Cig has a serious eye for detail and IUFB is sort of his creation at the end of the day (those are his words).

The fanbase definitely is spoiled by virtue of the fact we had a perfect season, natty, Heisman winner in his second year here. That is an impossible standard to sustain year over year.

We also don't really know how to win as a fanbase because we haven't had a consistent winner in football or basketball for so long IMO. Some of that he can address with the AD by making improvements to the game day experience, which it looks like is a work in progress but way ahead of where it's been historically. I also think there's a degree of him having to coach the fanbase too on how to be part of a winning culture. 

There are loud outliers online (people tweeting negative things at players / complaining about winning 38-0) and in person (random obnoxious people who don't know how to act, which every school has). Schools with really strong winning cultures kind of self-police that, in person at least. I don't doubt random booing of Hoover gets noticed even if it's not loud. Or that some players families may hear stuff they find offensive and that gets noticed too.  

It doesn't surprise me that Cig and staff pay attention to narratives around the program and get kind of miffed by A) our press corps, who just kinda suck B) some of the ridiculous stuff people come up with, especially after his immediate success.

Doesn't bother me when Cig has comments about the fans or sounds annoyed, even if it's a small portion of the overall fanbase. Some of it I think is more about sending a message to his own players and some of it I think is coaching that fans have to be open to receiving (EX: he referenced how the fans still have the championship hangover) 

I was going to post something very similar to this but your words are so much better. Appreciate what you said here. 

While I'm still on cloud nine with the complete 180 of the program, I'm grounded with my expectations. From the get go, the only thing I truly wanted for IUFB was to be compared to a program like Iowa. And we're clearly on track to consistently winning 8+ more games a year, being a well coached football team, a roster full of fundamental, disciplined, high IQ, players. IUFB is in very good hands.