Curt Cignetti admits Big Ten TV contract helped push him to Indiana: 'Money, baby'

Indiana‘s move to hire Curt Cignetti as its head coach has turned out to be the biggest move of the offseason, and his Hoosiers are undefeated heading into Week 13.

Cignetti left a secure, long-term contract with James Madison to pursue the Indiana head coaching job — and it may not have been possible without the Big Ten Conference’s television rights deal. He was blunt when identifying the most attractive aspect of coaching in his new conference.

“Money, baby,” Cignetti told Rob Stone, Urban Meyer and Mark Ingram on The Triple Option podcast.

“Because that money flows in and improves resources, improves things for the players, for the staff. You’ve gotta have a little money now and again, right?

Cignetti added that the things that make a program successful in 2024 are completely different than what dictated a winning culture a decade ago.

He said that with the right commitment from an athletic department’s leadership, any power program can determine their own success. That especially rings true in the age of NIL and the transfer portal.

Money talks, and there’s plenty of it in the Big Ten Conference.

“The Big Ten television contract a couple of years ago really got my attention,” Cignetti continued. “When that went down, like, that really got my attention. My feeling, I felt the commitment from the president, the AD. They made the change on a Sunday, I was on the phone with them Sunday evening and was offered a job Wednesday night.

“It was a very quick process, and but it resonated with me how strongly they felt about changing the brand of Indiana football, making the commitment resource-wise that you have to make today to be successful.”

Those commitments have appeared to pay off as the Hoosiers have enjoyed a 10-0 start to the 2024 season.

The move from James Madison to IU has paid off for Cignetti, too. Literally. During Indiana’s bye in Week 12, Cignetti agreed to a long-term contract extention and raise with the Hoosiers. He will make an average of $8 million per year for eight years thanks to the team’s historically great start.

Regardless of how Saturday’s matchup against Ohio State goes, or how the Hoosiers finish in the CFP race, it’s not far-fetched to assume talent will look to make Bloomington their home in the coming seasons.