IU football lost the first game it ever played on Oct. 25, 1887 to Franklin.
And the losses just kept piling up.
Much was made when Indiana became the first Division I college football team to lose 700 games back in 2022. Coming into this season they’d long held the infamous distinction of being the program with the most all-time losses.
But the losing has slowed significantly over the last two years, and the long, slow process of climbing out from the college football cellar has commenced.
Over the last couple weeks, Northwestern passed IU for the most Division I losses in college football history.
Northwestern reports in its football media guide a record of 572-711-44 coming into the 2025 season. They’ve gone 5-5 this year to move to 577-716-44.
Meanwhile, Indiana reported 520-714-45 in its media guide before the season. And of course the Hoosiers are 11-0 to this point, to move to 531-714-45.
Until recently Indiana also had the worst winning percentage among Power 4 conference teams. But now that distinction belongs to Wake Forest. There are also several Group of 5 conference schools with worse all-time winning percentages than both IU and Wake.
Of course the key to Indiana’s climb from the bottom rung has been their 22-2 record over the last two seasons under the direction of second-year head coach Curt Cignetti. Under his lead, IU has set new standards for winning — with the first 11-win season ever in 2024, and the first 11-0 start ever in 2025.
Rutgers might be the next team to pass IU in the all-time loss column. The Scarlet Knights are in the neighborhood of 706 losses, but a precise figure is difficult to nail down.
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