Hoosiers Now

Is Indiana A Football School? Basketball Legend Steve Alford Chimes In

Indiana had always been known as a basketball school with five national championship banners, but Curt Cignetti's arrival in Bloomington has come with a shift in perception.
Jack Ankony|
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti raises the Peach Bowl trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti raises the Peach Bowl trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Asking if Indiana was a football school was usually met with an emphatic "no," a headshake or even a laugh. After all, Indiana had been the losingest program in college football history until Northwestern's loss to USC on Nov. 7, 2025. Meanwhile, five men's basketball national championship banners hang in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

But Curt Cignetti's arrival in Bloomington before the 2024 football season sparked a shift in perception many viewed impossible. He said at his introductory press conference that his biggest challenge would be changing the way people think, and he's certainly done so. While Indiana may still have a few doubters lingering around, it has risen to the nation's No. 1 ranking and established a foundation for sustained, high-level success.

The Hoosiers are 26-2 in two seasons under Cignetti, with their only losses coming to last season's national championship opponents: Ohio State and Notre Dame. Next Monday against Miami, they have a shot at the program's first-ever national title.

Meanwhile, on the basketball court, year one under coach Darian DeVries is off to just an OK start. The Hoosiers are 12-4 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play, and they missed a chance to win their first Quad 1 game of the season by blowing a 16-point second-half lead Saturday against No. 10 Nebraska. Indiana was a No. 9 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology, published prior to the loss. Its last Sweet 16 appearance came in 2016, and it hasn't made the Final Four since 2002.

So, is Indiana really a football school now? Indiana basketball's 1987 national champion point guard Steve Alford –– now coaching Nevada –– didn't answer the question directly, but he still seems to have plenty of school spirit for both teams.

"Well, I don't know about that," Alford said. "... And yes, the Hoosiers –– I'm not saying that, but the Hoosiers are playing for a natty on Monday night. And just so you know, if that happens, that's an undefeated 16-0, which has never happened in football. And the last undefeated basketball team was the '76 Hoosiers, so one school –– my school –– could hold both of those things in basketball and football. So, good luck Hoosiers on Monday."

The football team's incredible run seems to have taken away some of the fan base's interest and passion for the basketball team, who hasn't done itself any huge favors with only a moderate level of success so far. Just compare an Indiana-dominated crowd at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta to some of the empty seats at Saturday's home basketball game against a top-10 opponent, or various other underwhelming turnouts at Assembly Hall this season.

For former players like Alford, the basketball program's downward trend in recent years has to be disappointing. But like Alford mentioned, Indiana could soon claim to have the two most recent undefeated champions in the two most prominent collegiate sports.

So, rather than choosing between being a basketball school or a football school, Indiana should strive to claim both.

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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony has been covering IU basketball and football with “Indiana Hoosiers on SI” since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism.

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