Curt Cignetti has said regularly since he was hired that Indiana’s clear financial commitment to football was a major factor in his decision to accept the head coaching position in Bloomington.
A year into his tenure and at least 10 wins later, Indiana’s ability to financially support football at an elite level is set to be tested again.
A near lock for the national coach of the year, Cignetti is the hottest name on the coaching carousel, both at the college level and even the NFL.
It goes without saying Cignetti is a wanted man, and it seems rather obvious to point out IU has been working behind the scenes to make sure he stays in Bloomington long-term.
Under a contract that pays him a base salary of $4.25 million, Cignetti has already earned $600,000 in bonuses this season, an automatic 1-year contract extension and a $250,000 raise that begins next season.
But he’s proven to be a steal at that rate, currently ranking 15th among Big Ten coaches in salary. The coaches Cignetti is competing with for a Big Ten title — Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Penn State’s James Franklin, and Oregon’s Dan Lanning, all make in the $8 to $10 million per year range. Given his proven track record of success, and his complete transformation of IU football in just one season, it just might take something in that neighborhood to keep Cignetti in Bloomington long-term.
IU AD Scott Dolson says Indiana is going to do everything they can to lock up Cignetti for the foreseeable future.
“This isn’t a one hit wonder,” Dolson said of keeping Cignetti on the Hoosiers Connect podcast this week. “When President (Pam) Whitten supported making certain we made a commitment to football, it’s a long-term commitment. We want to make certain we can compete, sustain success, and be a proud member of the Big Ten, the best football conference in the country. We’re committed to continuing to invest the resources in our program to keep things going. We know that helps us sustain the entire department.”
Keeping Cignetti might also entail a commitment by Indiana to enhance 64-year-old Memorial Stadium.
When traditional football doormat Kansas extended their head coach Lance Leipold a couple years again, facilities improvements were included in the contract terms. Basically, Kansas had to show tangible progress towards implementing planned upgrades, or Leipold could leave without paying a buyout. Whether IU goes that route with Cignetti remains to be seen, but Dolson said updates at Memorial Stadium are the number one facilities priority across the entire IU Athletics landscape.
“We need to have a vision for Memorial Stadium,” Dolson said. “If you said what’s our biggest need right now, the infrastructure at Memorial Stadium isn’t where it needs to be to provide the modern fan experience that we want. That’s the next big facility need.
“People are wanting to see more modern, premium seating options. As you go around to modern stadiums, you go right up the road to Lucas Oil Stadium, modernizing the premium seating fan experience, that’s a big thing people want, bigger club areas, etc.”
Premium suites, enhanced egress areas, bathroom and concession stand improvements and much more could be on the table. Dolson compared the anticipated Memorial Stadium improvements to the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall upgrades completed in 2016.
IU Athletics surveyed fans more than a year ago on concepts for renovating Memorial Stadium, and with the data in hand, it now seems we’re at a confluence of the efforts to keep Cignetti in Bloomington, and facilities upgrades tied to the football program.
Whether the upgrades are tied to a new contract for Cignetti or not, it seems we’re at a major, multifaceted inflection point that will have ramifications on the state of IU football for years to come. Indiana hit it out of the park when they hired Cignetti and secured the financial resources to provide for a fast start a year ago.
Cignetti did his part with one of, if not the best season in program history.
And now the stakes have been raised once again.
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