Newly hired Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti hasn’t been afraid to make some bold statements as he makes the rounds in his new state.
Ahead of his introductory press conference in Bloomington, Cignetti stopped in Indianapolis for an interview with Big Ten Network, in which he said the Hoosiers (3–9 under Tom Allen in 2023) would play for a conference championship in ’24.
That level of braggadocio continued on Friday night, when Cignetti was introduced to Hoosier fans at Assembly Hall, during halftime of the men’s basketball team’s 65–53 win over Maryland.
Cignetti wasted no time in getting digs in, not only at in-state rival Purdue, but Big Ten powerhouses Ohio State and Michigan as well.
“I’m super fired up about this opportunity. I’ve never taken a back seat to anybody and don’t plan on starting now!” Cignetti exclaimed to the raucous home crowd. “Purdue sucks! But so does Michigan and Ohio State! Go IU!”
“Purdue sucks…so does Michigan and Ohio State” …Curt Cignetti has arrived in the Big Ten pic.twitter.com/4Edzp3z5Zo
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) December 2, 2023
That is certainly one way to fire up the fan base of a Big Ten program looking to get back on the football map.
While Michigan is busy preparing for Saturday’s Big Ten championship against Iowa, and Ohio State is hoping to get a number of breaks and crash the College Football Playoff party, expect both fan bases to revisit this clip in the fall.
Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports
IU will face the three schools that Cignetti called out in consecutive weeks next fall, hosting Michigan on Nov. 9 and Purdue on Nov. 30, with a trip to Ohio State in between on Nov. 23.
Indiana took down Michigan during the Wolverines tough 2020 campaign, its first win over the school since 1987. The Hoosiers have dropped 29-straight games to the Buckeyes, and are 0-30-1 in the all-time series since their last win in ’88.
