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Football has historically taken a backseat to basketball at the University of Indiana, but that’s certainly not the case this year thanks to how the Hoosiers have fared on the gridiron. There’s no telling what the future holds for the program, but the school seems intent on remaining a force to be reckoned with based on a key detail in the extension it gave Curt Cignetti.
The Indiana Hoosiers brought the Tom Allen Era to an end after seven years following a 3-9 showing last season, and it was hard not to be intrigued by the decision to poach Curt Cignetti from James Madison based on his wildly impressive tenure with the Dukes.
Oddsmakers expected the 2024 season to be a transitional one for an Indiana team that had its win total pegged at 5.5 games, but anyone who bet the over was able to cash in less than a week into October after they got off to an absolutely scorching start.
Indiana dropped to 10-1 after Ohio State handed them their first loss of the season two weeks after the Hoosiers hit double-digit wins for the first time in the history of a program that was founded in the 1880s, but all signs point to the school making a wise decision by locking down Cignetti for the foreseeable future with an eight-year extension worth $72 million.
Jared Kelly of 247Sports got a peek under the hood of that deal by filing a public information request that shed some light on the payment structure and potential bonuses, and he also stumbled upon a pretty intriguing clause concerning the $11 million assistant pool Cignetti will be able to dip into to compensate his coordinators, coaches, and other members of his supporting staff on an annual basis.
As Kelly notes, that’s not only a significant increase from the $5.86 million Cignetti was given to assemble a team of assistants prior to inking the extension but one that rivals the number Ohio State gave Ryan Day to work with this year.
Indiana’s $11 million assistant salary pool is a MONSTER number.
According to a report, Ohio State this season bumped its assistant salary pool to $11.43 million, the highest in the nation.
So yeah, there is clear commitment from IU in investing in football. #iufb https://t.co/EfZDOLdjfh
— Jared Kelly (@Jared_Kelly7) November 25, 2024
Only time will tell if Indiana can sustain its current level of success, but the school has made it very clear it’s more than willing to invest in Cignetti’s vision thanks to the drastic turnaround he’s spearheaded.