Was Indiana football always a sleeping giant, simply short on the necessary investment to the elevate the program, and often lacking a competent head coach?

Probably.  That’s what Curt Cignetti thinks, anyway.  And he certainly has a more than adequate frame of reference to make that determination.

“You’ve got to be good in football nowadays, because that’s where the money is.  And maybe Indiana was a little late to the game in realizing that.  I think getting a president in Pam Whitten who loves football and is from Alabama really helped,” Cignetti told ESPN’s Greg McElroy earlier this month.

He believes IU has always had the potential to achieve the new heights the football program experienced in 2024.

“What happened here in the past is only because of neglect.  We’ve got a great campus, great university, great resources, second-largest alumni base in America.”

Neglect is a harsh word delivered by a man who isn’t known as one to sugarcoat his thoughts.

But on his way out the door, Cignetti’s predecessor Tom Allen signaled the same kind of concerns.

IU made some moves over the 15 prior years that signaled some degree of recognition the investment in football had to increase.  Both ends of Memorial Stadium were enclosed, a locker room project was completed, and other amenities were added.

But during Allen’s tenure, Indiana was confronting the new realities of college football in the NIL era.

And in Allen’s mind, IU’s efforts were inadequate.

“College football has changed dramatically over the past several years. Some of those changes have been a shock to the conscience of those who support IU football. The time has come to fully embrace those changes and I pray that IU does just that,” Allen said in November 2023.

As he set out to replace Allen, IU AD Scott Dolson knew he had to demonstrate to prospective candidates Indiana was ready, willing and able to test the limits of successful football at Indiana.

IU was at a major inflection point in 2023, with the Big Ten expanding to 18 teams and a massive new media rights deal about to help replenish the coffers.  The opportunity was there for university leadership intent on building a competitive football team.

It started with securing significant investments from donors in Indiana’s forgotten revenue sport.

“Coach Cignetti would not be here if we didn’t have a robust NIL program,” Dolson told WRTV last year.  “That’s just because you have to have the resources to be able to win. As good as he is, he needs those resources as well.  The NIL opportunity for us has enabled us to really level the playing field around the country.”

Ironically, one of Indiana’s biggest initial investments in the program was the $15.5 million it paid Tom Allen to buy out his contract in 2023.  In addition to that and the NIL commitment, IU leadership has substantially increased the salary pool for assistant coaches, and then gave major raises to Cignetti and his entire staff.  IU’s spending on football coaching salaries alone has more than doubled over the last six years.

But the investment goes much deeper, into things like recruiting budgets, player perks and benefits, the gameday experience, support staff, and more.

According to information published in the Knight-Newhouse database, IU has increased its football expenditures every year since 2021, from $23.9 million to $61.6 million.  2024 was the first year at least going back to 2005 that IU exceeded the Big Ten median in total football spending.

Cignetti believes he’s getting what he needs to not rev the IU football engines like he did in 2024, but keep the Hoosiers in the national conversation going forward.

“I felt a real commitment from the President Pam Whitten and the Athletic Director Scott Dolson to get football going,” he said.  “I mean football generates 90% of the athletic revenue across the country, and they wanted to get it rolling.  I think you can win anywhere in America with the proper commitment from the top.”

For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.

The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

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Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team carded a 285 during the second round of action at the NCAA Championship on Saturday to grab sole possession of seventh place at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.

The second-ranked Cowboys rose seven spots in the team standings with their 3-under tally at the par-72, 7,480-yard layout. OSU stands at 2-over 578, two shots behind Texas and three shots behind Florida State for fifth place.

Sophomore Gaven Lane posted the squad’s round of the day, firing a 3-under 69 to rise 54 spots into a tie for 25th place at 144. Lane was bogey free on his outward nine, posting birdies at the second and the ninth.

He would tack on a birdie at the 12th to get to 3-under par for the day. After carding his lone bogey of the round at the 17th, he bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 18th hole to wrap up his day.

Preston Stout worked his way into the top 10, using a 70 to move into a share of eighth place at 141. The sophomore stood at 2-over through seven holes before carding three birdies over his next six holes to move under par. He would add his fifth birdie of the day at the 18th.

Sophomore Eric Lee used a 1-under 71 to climb 30 spots into a share of 33rd place at 145.

Sophomore Ethan Fang’s 75 tied him for 64th place at 148, while freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson also signed for a 75 and is tied for 89th place at 150.

Of note, four Cowboys were named NCAA Division I PING All-Region honorees by the Golf Coaches Association of America on Saturday as well. Fang, Lane, Lee and Stout all garnered the recognition.

The Mark Pope interview with Matt Jones is a gift that keeps on giving. There are so many small nuggets embedded in the 45-minute conversation that you can find a new hidden gem on every re-listen. One such chunk of gold came when Pope was talking about the high expectations of Kentucky. He knows Kentucky should be the best at everything and win championships. He then dropped a quote from a conversation he had with John Calipari:

“[Winning championships] is what all our former players, former coaches…you know what, you know, that’s what Cal expects! I mean, Cal is at Arkansas, and he’s like, ‘Don’t you ruin my program, man. That’s the best program in all of basketball.‘”

Mark Pope | Kentucky Sports Radio

As Matt Jones is wont to do on occasion, he cut Pope off and diverged to a different subject, but I couldn’t help but smash the rewind button and listen to that again. Pope seemingly revealed a conversation he and Calipari had where Cal jokingly (and this was clearly said in a joking manner by Calipari; don’t go claiming I am trying to start a war here) gave Pope a big-brother type of warning.

What I found revealing is that Calipari clearly feels pride in what he accomplished as Kentucky’s head coach for 15 years. His last few years were sloppy, and his exit wasn’t exactly the storybook ending he dreamed of, but referring to Kentucky as “my program” shows he still loves this university. And his big-brother-like protective warning of, “Don’t ruin it,” shows that he wants to see it remain on top of the college basketball hilltop.

Big Blue Nation got a sense of Cal’s love and respect when he made his return to Rupp Arena as the Razorback head coach holding a rolled-up program in honor of Joe B. Hall. It was a nice nod to the respect he has for the history of the program, a history that he is now part of.

It is easy to project the bitterness of the separation onto Calipari, effectively assuming he feels the same frustration we do. While I’m sure he feels a certain level of resentment about how everything went down, if what he said to Mark Pope is any indication, Cal still loves Kentucky.