Overview
- Indiana finished 15-0 in Cignetti’s second season and is the consensus No. 1 team.
- The Hoosiers beat Ohio State for the Big Ten title, then routed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl and Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl.
- Transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, the first in program history.
- Cignetti leveraged the portal, including 13 players from James Madison, as Indiana’s football spending reached about $60 million in 2024, according to the Knight-Newhouse database.
- Billionaire alumnus Mark Cuban began funding Indiana athletics in 2024–25, telling CBS Sports he donated to sports at IU for the first time after speaking with Cignetti.