Author: Jason Sanders

I win. Google me? It should have come with a warning. Don’t try it at home. It didn’t go well for Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that on March 2 following a big loss to the Bulls, Rivers called a team meeting and attempted to channel his inner-Curt Cignetti. Charania says Rivers, “implored his team to, ‘Look at my resume,‘ and ‘Google me. I took teams to the playoffs and championship that weren’t supposed to be there. I thought this was one of them.’” Sure, Cignetti was bold when he first said “It’s pretty simple, I…

Following a 16-0 season, 2026 is not a rebuild campaign in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have reloaded as they pursue a repeat national title. That’s according to ESPN, which ranks Indiana’s newcomer class (i.e. incoming high school recruits plus incoming transfers) as the No. 5 best group in the nation. Other outlets have come to similar conclusions. On3 ranks Indiana’s net transfer portal class (quality in vs. quality out) as No. 1 in the nation.  247Sports says the Hoosiers have the No. 8 transfer class when only considering incoming players. IU’s 2026 high school class is No. 30 at Rivals and…

Curt Cignetti’s game-worn national championship headset sold for $112,000 in an auction Sunday evening. The headset sold on a relatively new platform called Bison Drop. Bison Drop is an online auction and commerce platform featuring curated IU Athletics items, experiences, and merchandise. The price of the headset increased by nearly $90,000 over the last hour of the auction. The description of the headset read: “If you watched the 2025 season, you know the stance. Feet planted. Arms set. Headset on. This is the actual headset worn by Head Coach Curt Cignetti during IU’s unforgettable National Championship run. Every call, every…

The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced their 2025 All-American teams on Tuesday. The Indiana players named to the AFCA All-American teams are Fernando Mendoza (first team), Aiden Fisher (first team), Carter Smith (first team) and D’Angelo Ponds (second team). Mendoza has now been name a First Team All-American by three of the five selectors designated by the NCAA for determining whether a player has earned consensus (3 of 5) or unanimous (5 of 5) All-American status. Mendoza has been named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, Walter Camp and now AFCA.  The remaining two selectors are the…

Is Indiana about to land its second commit in the 2026 class? There are multiple predictions at national outlets indicating 2026 top-50 wing Vaughn Karvala will choose Indiana when he announces his college choice this Saturday. 247Sports’ national site has placed a high confidence staff projection that Karvala will pick IU.  Meanwhile, Wisconsin-based On3 contributor Evan Flood has predicted Karvala will be a Hoosier.  Karvala is from Wisconsin. Indiana currently has one commit in its 2026 class — Maryland-based guard Prince-Alexander Moody. A commitment by Karvala would elevate Indiana to No. 30 in the 247Sports team rankings for the 2026…

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…