Curt Cignetti and Indiana Given Ultimate Praise by Rival Big Ten Coach

Indiana football is the belle of the ball through the first two days Big Ten Media Days in Chicago this week, and that's without the Hoosiers being highlighted yet.

Curt Cignetti and Indiana will get its chance on Thursday, the final day of the three-day event in the Chicago Loop.

It didn't take long for Indiana to become among the main topics of conversation at Big Ten Media Days, though, as Illinois head coach Bret Bielema gave Cignetti and the Hoosiers perhaps the biggest compliment imaginable in the sport.

Illinois HC Bret Bielema's Highest Praise for Curt Cignetti

While he's the head coach at Illinois currently, Bret Bielema has made a life out of rising the college football coaching ranks.

"Because, kind of what's going on right now in the bigger picture of college football, that is single-handedly the most impressive story that I've witnessed in my college career," Bielema said of Indiana under Cignetti. "I know what they did to us, right?

Bielema clearly hasn't forgotten about the 63-10 beatdown Indiana put on Illinois in Bloomington last year.

"And then you know to see them do what they did in the playoff, that just that's not happened in the CFP. The way they've dominated teams is just really impressive."

After his playing career at Iowa came to an end and a brief career in the Arena Football League, Bielema got into coaching. One of his first jobs was at Kansas State in 2002 and 2003, a program that rose from the ashes to national prominence under former head coach Bill Snyder.

Bielema's time in Manhattan, Kansas came up as he thought of the only turnaround he would even compare to that of Indiana under Cignetti.

"I was at Kansas State with Bill Snyder, and I remember they were about as bad as bad gets when he took over," recalled Bielema, "Sports Illustrated wanted to come in and do an article about how bad it was there, and he said, "I'll let you write the article, but when we turn this thing, you got to come back and write a story about it.

What was Illinois coach Bret Bielema's reaction to Indiana football winning a national title?

"That is single handedly the most impressive story that I've witnessed in my college career."

His whole answer is worth your time: pic.twitter.com/sZK9wtXlO0
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) July 28, 2026

"So there's a there's a framed Sports Illustrated article on Coach's office when I was working for him that said the greatest turnaround in college football history, and I think Indiana probably passed that one by."

Indiana's Staying Power Compared to Kansas State's Under Snyder

Indiana football under Tom Allen looked like a juggernaut compared to what Snyder inherited at Kansas State.

The Wildcats went just 3-40-1 in the four years before Snyder was hired, and began his run with an 0-11 campaign.

For those scoring at home, that's a 3-51-1 run by Kansas State.

It wasn't immediate like Cignetti, but the transfer portal didn't exist then either. Under Snyder, Kansas State became a regular bowl team and finished the year ranked in 11 of 12 seasons from 1993 through 2004.

Since Snyder retired for good following the 2018 season, Kansas State has remained a regular bowl team, something that felt impossible pre-Snyder.

Indiana head coach Curt Cigentti with Illinois head coach Bret Bielema after a 2025 game in Bloomingto — Illinois' Head Coach Bret Bielema and Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti meet after the game during the Indiana versus Illinois football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

With Cignetti, Indiana has won a national championship and turned into a football powerhouse.

What will happen after Cignetti eventually retires, though? Will Indiana have the staying power to remain a force, or will it still be plenty respectable, but have taken a step back like Kansas State has post-Snyder?

Hopefully that answer is years and years away from having to be answered in Bloomington.

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