Author: Jason Sanders

Based on data published this week by USA Today, IU’s Curt Cignetti is the 18th-highest paid head coach in college football in 2025. His $8.3 million for the 2025 contract year ranks below five Big Ten coaches:  Ohio State’s Ryan Day, USC’s Lincoln Riley, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, and Penn State’s James Franklin. Cignetti is 16-2, including 10-1 in the Big Ten to start his Indiana tenure. Less than a year into his time at IU, Cignetti signed a new deal last November.  His contract runs thru Nov. 30, 2032 with average annual compensation of $8 million, as well…

Tino Sunseri will not be making a return trip to Bloomington in a few weeks. Indiana’s quarterbacks coach last season and a multi-season assistant under Curt Cignetti, Sunseri left IU following the 2024 campaign to become the offensive coordinator at UCLA. But Sunseri and UCLA have mutually agreed to part ways midseason according to multiple reports. UCLA ranks just No. 119 in total offense and No. 134 in scoring offense through week five.  The move comes as part of continuing upheaval in Los Angeles. The Bruins fired head coach DeShaun Foster a couple weeks ago. Despite the hiccup at UCLA,…

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the first person who comes to the mind of longtime ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper as the most intriguing prospect for 2026 NFL Draft. In a recent episode of “First Draft,” ESPN draft specialists Field Yates and Mel Kiper discussed the 10 most intriguing pro prospects entering the 2025 college football regular season. “Fernando Mendoza has a chance to soar up NFL Draft boards with a big season with the Indiana Hoosiers, and a quarterback friendly offense,” Kiper said to kick off the segment. His co-host Yates said he intends to place Mendoza in the…

ESPN’s Bill Connelly has completed his annual preview of the Big Ten fueled by his computer-driven SP+ model. Indiana finished fourth in the final post-CFP 2024 Big Ten SP+ rankings, behind Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State, and they were No. 11 nationally. One of the key metrics behind preseason SP+ is returning production from last year, which takes into account the production of an incoming transfer (e.g. – Fernando Mendoza’s production at Cal last year is part of Indiana’s returning production). At 62%, Indiana has the seventh-most overall returning production in the Big Ten in 2025, and 38th most…

Now in his 11th season in the majors, former IU baseball star Kyle Schwarber is on pace to have his best season as a pro. The 32-year-old was named the Phillies midseason MVP this week. Through 87 games, Schwarber is batting .248 with a team-high 26 home runs and 58 RBIs.  Schwarber leads the club in home runs, RBIs, runs, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The MLB All-Star teams will be announced on Saturday.  Schwarber is likely to earn his third appearance in that contest. Schwarber is up to 310 home runs for his career, to go with 710…

It’s difficult to get college coaches to speak candidly on much of anything. That’s why we like Athlon’s annual tradition of obtaining anonymous quotes from coaches from around the Big Ten containing candid thoughts about other programs in the league. It’s bulletin board material — without a name attached. What do Big Ten football coaches think about Indiana and second-year head coach Curt Cignetti? The quotes below come from Athlon Sports’ 2025 College Football Preview print magazine. Order your copy today online, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide. Here are the four quotes Athlon published regarding…

Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds just completed his sophomore season at Indiana, but he stands among the best-of-the-best in college football. After earning multiple freshman All-America honors in 2023 at James Madison, Ponds was named an All-American by six different national outlets as a sophomore at IU in 2024. What does the future hold for Ponds as he turns the page to his junior season? An ESPN panel of 10 analysts say Ponds begins the upperclassman portion of his career as one of the five best defensive backs in all of college football. “He’s everything you want in a corner,” IU CB…

It’s well known Bob Knight would on occasion concoct outrage in an effort to send a message to his team. Knight’s tactics were sometimes referred to by folks in and around the program as “BK Theater.” Steve Alford told a tale of such a moment this summer as it relates to the 1984 Olympic team, when Knight threw the team out of practice. Former NBA star Mike Bibby shared a story last week about Mike Woodson that sounded like it may have been influenced by his time playing for Knight. When Woodson was coaching the Atlanta Hawks, Bibby was his…

Class of 2025 in-state guard Braylon Mullins hasn’t formally announced that he’s down to seven schools, but his fall plans suggest that’s where things stand. Mullins shared with Kyle Neddenriep of the Indy Star on Monday that he will not visit Purdue, Alabama or Kansas over the next couple months.  All three schools were listed in his top-10 announced in July. The 6-foot-5 product of Greenfield Central H.S. did visit Connecticut earlier this month, and he does have six more visits scheduled.  All previously reported, they are as follows: Michigan (Sept. 7), North Carolina (Sept. 14), Indiana (Sept. 20), Duke…

Headlining Indiana’s massive recruiting weekend that has already led to three commitments was 5-star class of 2025 quarterback Julian Lewis. Lewis is the the No. 10 overall player in the rising senior class according to the On3 Industry Average, and the No. 2 quarterback.  Indiana is competing with USC, Auburn and Colorado for the services of the Carrollton, Ga. product. The first time Lewis visited IU it made a splash, the second this past weekend it opened some eyes to the possibility.  Is yet a third visit possible?  Yes. Lewis has a specific weekend in mind. “If I do go…