Curt Cignetti joked in December he had swept all of the national coach of the year honors except the Dodd Trophy, because you have to be with a team for more than one year to be eligible.
At the start of year two in Bloomington, Cignetti is on the radar for the one that got away.
Cignetti is one of 26 coaches on the preseason watch list for the 2025 Dodd Trophy, it was announced on Monday.
Cignetti will coach against three of the other coaches on the watch list — Illinois’ Bret Bielema, Penn State’s James Franklin, and Oregon’s Dan Lanning. Former IU offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer, now the head coach at Alabama, is also on the list.
Former IU coach Tom Allen was a finalist for the honor in 2020.
The Dodd Trophy celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, the award was established to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1A) head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field.
The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. taking into consideration each program’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, as well as projected success for the 2025 season.
The 2025 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List Presented by PNC Bank:
| Coach | School | Conference | APR (2023-24) |
| Bret Bielema | Illinois | Big Ten | 980 |
| Jeff Brohm | Louisville | ACC | 989 |
| Curt Cignetti | Indiana | Big Ten | 982 |
| Mario Cristobal | Miami (FL) | ACC | 987 |
| Matt Campbell | Iowa State | Big 12 | 1000 |
| Spencer Danielson | Boise State | Mountain West | 994 |
| Ryan Day | Ohio State | Big Ten | 1000 |
| Kalen DeBoer | Alabama | SEC | 1000 |
| Kenny Dillingham | Arizona State | Big 12 | 983 |
| Eliah Drinkwitz | Mizzou | SEC | 993 |
| Mike Elko | Texas A&M | SEC | 974 |
| James Franklin | Penn State | Big Ten | 976 |
| Marcus Freeman | Notre Dame | Independent | 987 |
| Josh Heupel | Tennessee | SEC | 982 |
| Brian Kelly | LSU | SEC | 1000 |
| Brent Key | Georgia Tech | ACC | 991 |
| Chris Klieman | Kansas State | Big 12 | 997 |
| Dan Lanning | Oregon | Big Ten | 981 |
| Joey McGuire | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 997 |
| Jeff Monken | Army | AAC | 980 |
| Steve Sarkisian | Texas | SEC | 991 |
| Ryan Silverfield | Memphis | AAC | 973 |
| Kalani Sitake | BYU | Big 12 | 978 |
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | SEC | 1000 |
| Dabo Swinney | Clemson | ACC | 1000 |
| Brent Venables | Oklahoma | SEC | 993 |
A midseason watch list – adding to or narrowing the field – will be released in the fall. A panel consisting of previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will identify the final list of potential recipients at the conclusion of the 2025 season. The winner of the 2025 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank will be announced in Atlanta during the week of the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Starting in September on a weekly basis, the Dodd Coach of the Week Award will also honor coaches whose program embodies the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field during the previous week.
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