National Championship Trophy Won’t Be In Curt Cignetti’s Office For Long

The Indiana football coach is moving on to next season.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti prepares to lift the National Championship trophy at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana is going to need a new trophy case after the 2025-26 season –– just don't put it in Curt Cignetti's office.

In a recent episode of The Triple Option Podcast with Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram and Rob Stone, Cignetti was asked where he put his shiny, gold National Championship trophy upon returning to Bloomington after defeating Miami 27-21 on Jan. 19.

And he gave perhaps the most Cignetti-style response possible.

“It’s sitting about five feet in front of me here. … I’ll make sure they get ‘em out of here as quick as possible," Cignetti said. "I don’t want to look at them too long and get soft.”

That's right, Cignetti hasn't changed a bit –– even after winning the National Championship. He preached to his team and in press conferences throughout his first two seasons at Indiana to never be satisfied and always try to get better each day.

While Cignetti acknowledged he's taken some time to celebrate Indiana's first-ever National Championship, he's certainly not dwelling on it or letting it affect his preparation for the 2026-27 season.

Indiana football posted a workout video from John Mellencamp Pavilion on Tuesday with the caption "new season starts now." After winning the National Championship, it may be even more difficult to keep the Hoosiers hungry and never satisfied. But who better than Cignetti to implement that mindset?

Over the last two seasons, his players consistently echoed Cignetti's messages and translated them to the field. It helped to have 13 James Madison transfers bring that culture to Indiana in 2024, but it was also impressive to see Cignetti generate such strong buy in up and down the roster.

In doing so, he acquired quite the long list of trophies over the last two years, including the National Championship, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, Big Ten Championship, Old Oaken Bucket (twice), Old Brass Spittoon (twice) and 16 coach of the year awards.

Those will be great recruiting tools for Indiana to use over the years, displaying the program's recent dominance locally and nationally. It's a simple pitch that can be convincing even for top recruits –– "See our National Championship trophy?"

Just get it out of Cignetti's office so he can watch film.

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