Indiana University Football Head Coach Curt Cignetti Inks a new Eight-Year Contract Thru 2032 Indiana University and IU Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti have agreed to terms on a new eight-year contract with an average annual compensation of $8 million, as well as an additional annual $1 million retention bonus. Cignetti’s new contract runs thru Nov. 30, 2032. “Since arriving on campus, Coach Cignetti has been the architect of one of college football’s greatest turnarounds and has shown the world that IU is also a football school,” said Indiana University President Pamela Whitten. “Coach Cignetti exemplifies IU’s goal to win in all that we do. The success he has brought to Indiana football is shining a light on all that is amazing about Indiana University. We are excited that Coach Cignetti and his wonderful family will be a part of the Hoosier Nation for many years to come.”
“I am beyond appreciative for the tremendous commitment, confidence, and support from President Pam Whitten and Athletic Director Scott Dolson. Manette and I love Bloomington and are grateful for how the IU community has embraced us,” said Cignetti. “I look forward to leading this outstanding program and doing my part to continue the momentum for Hoosier football.”
“After first meeting Coach Cignetti, we were very confident that he was the perfect fit for what we were trying to build with our football program,” said IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson. “We were confident IU could become a winning program, and we love what he’s building here. We love the student-athletes that he’s bringing here. We love how our fanbase has rallied around this team and made Memorial Stadium the place to be on Saturday afternoons. And now, we love the fact that he’s going to be doing all those things right here in Bloomington for a long, long time.”
In his first year in Bloomington, Cignetti has taken a program that won a total of three Big Ten games in the previous three seasons to a level of success that IU football has never enjoyed. The Hoosiers 10-0 start this fall is the best in school history, while the 10 wins represent the first 10-win season in the program’s history. Indiana’s current No. 5 national ranking, meanwhile, is one spot shy of the school’s all-time best of No. 4 set in both 1945 and 1967. Cignetti has accomplished this with a team that has dominated opponents on both sides of the ball. IU ranks second nationally in scoring offense (43.9), seventh in scoring defense (13.8), 16th in total offense (453.2), and third in total defense (255.5). Cignetti also has the Hoosiers ranked No. 5 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings, making them well positioned to earn a spot in the inaugural 12-team playoff that will be announced on Dec. 8. Indiana is in the midst of its second bye week of the season and will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 23, when it travels to Columbus, Ohio, to face No. 2 Ohio State at noon.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball bounces back to knock off #24 Stanford by 13 Points The Indiana Hoosiers snapped a two-game losing streak on Sunday Afternoon in Simon Sjkodt Assembly Hall knocking off the #24 Stanford Cardinal 79-66 to improve to 2-2 on the season while Stanford takes its first loss of the season after winning their four games of the season at home in Maples Pavillion. The Hoosiers will head to the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas for three games starting with Columbia on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 PM. The Hoosiers beat the Cardinal for the second time in series history after winning on December 21,1979, 73-63 in Chapel Hill North Carolina. Stanford now leads the all-time series after the Cardinal beat the Hoosiers 96-64 in Palo Alto a season ago on November 12, 2023, along with an 87-72 win in Palo Alto on November 16, 2001, and 69-66 on November 25, 2021, in Nassau the Bahamas.
Chloe Moore-McNeil led the Hoosiers with 21 points going for 7-11 from the field, 2-5 from three-point range and 5-6 from the free throw line, Shay Ciezki scored 19 points going 7-13 from the field, 2-3 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line. Yarden Garzon added 18 points going 6-12 from the field, 4-7 from three-point range and 2-2 from the free throw line. The Hoosiers finished 25-51 from the field for 49%, 9-19 from three-point range for 47% and 20-24 from the free throw line for 83%. Indiana pulled down 35 rebounds, dished out 13 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 28 points in the paint and committed 11 turnovers. Nunu Agara led Stanford with 15 points going 6-15 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line. Brooke Demetre added 14 points and Chloe Clardy added 10 points off the bench. The Cardinal finished 26-65 from the field for 40%, 2-11 from three-point range for 18% and 12-17 from the free throw line for 70%. The Cardinal pulled down 32 rebounds, dished out 9 assists, 6 Blocks, 3 Steals, 34 points in the paint, 27 bench points and committed 10 turnovers.
The game went back and forth from the start as neither team lead by more than 4 points in the first 10 minutes as there were two ties and 5 lead changes as the Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 10 points and the ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to lead 24-22 at the end of the first quarter. Lilly Meister put the Hoosiers up 4 to start the second quarter as the Cardinal scored to cut lead to 2 on two Jzaniya Harriel free throws with 8:04 left in the second quarter and then the Hoosiers went on a 14-0 run and the defense held the Cardinal scoreless to lead 40-24 with 2:48 left in the Cardinal scored with 2:35 left on a Brooke Demetre jumper to end a five minute and twenty-nine second scoring drought. Stanford outscored Indiana 6-2 in the remainder of the quarter as the Hoosiers outscored the Cardinal 18-9 in the second quarter as Indiana led 42-31 at the break as their 5 lead changes and 2 ties. It was the first time that Stanford had been held to single digits in a quarter all season and biggest margin they have trailed all season.
The Hoosiers were 16-31 from the field for 51%, 6-13 from three-point range for 46% and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. The Hoosiers pulled down 19 rebounds, dished out 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block 18 points in the paint committed 4 turnovers. Chloe Moore-McNeil had 12 points and Yarden Garzon had 11 points to lead the Hoosiers at the break. Stanford’s Nunu Agara had 11 points as the Cardinal went 12-31 from the field for 38%, 2-6 from three-point range for 33% and a perfect 5-5 from the Free throw line. The Cardinal pulled down 15 rebounds, dished out 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 10 points in the paint and committed 4 turnovers in the first half.
In the third quarter Stanford cut the lead to eight 44-36 on a Nunu Agara bucket with 6:46 left in the third quarter. The Hoosiers outscored the Cardinal 17-8 as Yarden Garzon hit back-to-back threes to give the Hoosiers a 16-point lead with 3:51 left in the third quarter. The Hoosiers lead by 19 points twice toward the end of the quarter as the outscored Stanford 19-13 going into the final ten minutes leading 61-44. Stanford outscored Indiana 22-18 in the fourth quarter as the Hoosiers were held scoreless for the final 2:25 of the game as the Cardinal hit 7 of their last 9 from the field. Stanford could not get any closer than ten points as Indiana bounces back after a tough two games and will have some time off ahead of three games in three days trip to the Bahamas for Thanksgiving break.
Lexus Bargesser was in uniform and warmed up with the team, but she did not play. Head Coach Teri Moren said she “should be back to practice this week and we hope to get her some minutes down in the Bahamas.” According to head coach Teri Moren Sophomore Lenee Beaumont is ”not progressing well and it’s a game time decision on what is next for her.” The Hoosiers knew how important this game was especially after losing the last two and getting blown out a Stanford a year ago. “We wanted to win. Losing sucks, we knew how we felt after Stanford last year, and we didn’t want to feel that again.” Yarden Garzon said after the game and Head Coach Teri Moren said, “It felt great after the last two games” and Indiana bounces back with a big home win over a ranked team.
#16 Indiana University Men’s Basketball finishes with an 8-0 run from the Free Throw Line to Beat South Carolina by 16 The Indiana Hoosiers faced their first test of the season Saturday afternoon in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as the South Carolina Gamecocks made their second trip to Bloomington and first since 1973 as the Hoosiers held off the Gamecocks 87-71 to improve to 3-0 on the season and Gamecocks fall to 2-2 on the season. Indiana leads the All-Time series 3-1 and it was first meeting between the two teams since November 8, 1998, when the Hoosiers beat the Gamecocks 76-55 in Indianapolis. Indiana won the previous meeting in Bloomington 84-71 December 22,1973 and South Carolina won the only matchup in Columbia on December 22, 1972, 88-85.
Columbia, South Carolina Native Myles Rice led the Hoosiers with 23 points going 7-10 from the field, 3-4 from three-point range and 6-6 from free throw line. Mackenize Mgbako added 17 points, Malik Reneau scored 13 points, Kannan Carlyle added 12 points and Trey Galloway scored 11 points off the bench. Oumar Ballo pulled down 13 rebounds and scored 7 points. Freshman Bryson Tucker added 4 points, and Luke Goode did not score going 0-3 from three-point range. The Hoosiers finished 26-51 from the field for 51%, 8-17 from three-point range for 47% and 27-33 from the free throw line for 81%. The Hoosiers pulled down 34 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, 7 blocks, 7 steals, 28 points in the paint and committed 11 turnovers. The Hoosiers guard play has made a big difference with the additions of Rice and Carlyle in backcourt add to having Trey Galloway as a veteran presence. “That’s just the beauty about our team. You kind of have three different guards that can do everything.” Indiana Sophomore Myles Rice said after the game.
Morris Ugusuk led South Carolina with 18 points off the bench hitting four of six three-point shots. Jamarii Thomas added 13 points, and Nick Pringle had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Myles Stute scored 11 points and hit three shots from beyond the arc. South Carolina’s leading scorer Collin Murray-Boyles was held to 2 points and fouled out. The Gamecocks finished 24-63 from the field for 38%, 8-29 from three-point range for 27% and 15-23 from the free throw line for 65%. South Carolina pulled down 34 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 26 points in paint, 26 bench points and committed 12 turnovers.
IU got off to a slow start missing their first three shots inside and three-point miss on the fourth attempt. South Carolina jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Myles Rice found Mackenize Mgbako inside who stuffed it home to get the Hoosiers on the Board. The Hoosiers went on 14-0 run and lead 14-4 and with 14:34 left in the first half. South Carolina ended the scoring drought with a free throw by Jamarii Thomas to make it 14-5 with 14:10 left in the half. Indiana maintained the lead throughout the first half with some beautiful finishes like Myles Rice throwing an alley-oop to Kannan Caryle and Freshman Bryson Tucker turning around and hitting a mid-range jumper after showing his handles. South Carolina cut the lead to three twice as Morris Ugusuk and Myles Stute kept the Gamecocks in the game by knocking down outside shots and Jacobi Wright scored on a layup at the buzzer as Indiana led 43-32 at halftime.
Myles Rice led the Hoosiers with 17 points at halftime and Mackenize Mgbako added 12 points as Indiana was 16-31 from the field for 51%, 5-9 from three-point range for 55% and 6-8 from the free throw line for 75%. The Hoosiers pulled down 19 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal and committed just 3 turnovers in the first half. South Carolina’s leading scorer Collin Murray-Boyles was held to 2 points and was 1-3 from the field with 4 rebounds. Morris Ugusuk came off the bench to score 14 points going 4-5 from three-point range and 2-2 from the free throw line. Myles Stute added 9 points on 3-6 from three-point range as the two combined were 7-11 from three-point range and the rest of the team 0-9 from beyond the arc in the first half. South Carolina went 11-31 from the field for 35% and 3-4 from the free throw line for 75%. The Gamecocks pulled down 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 1 steal and committed five turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Indiana controlled the second half and Kannan Caryle attempted an ally-opp to Mackenize Mgbako and It went in with 13:55 left in the game to make it 53-39 Indiana and sign when everything is going right for you in the game. South Carolina’s leading scorer Collin Murray-Boyles fouled out with 8:16 left in the game. He finished with 2 points on 1-4 shooting, 0-1 from three-point range 6 Rebounds, 1 assist and 4 turnovers and he averaged 21.7 points and 10.7 rebounds coming into the game and the Hoosiers held him under his average in both categories. South Carolina cut the deficit to 10 points at the 6:29 and 6:07 marks in the game. Myles Rice a nifty move between Gamecock defenders and scored on a layup to put the Hoosiers up 12. It got chippy with 5:32 left when Kannan Carlyle and Jamarii Thomas got tangled up that led to shoving between the two after Carlyle was called for a foul against Thomas and both were called for a technical foul. Thomas hit a free throw with 5:32 left to cut the Indiana lead to nine points 71-62. Trey Galloway put the Hoosiers up double digits hitting two free throws with 5:18 left to lead 73-62. The Gamecocks got within 8 points on a Jamarii Thomas fast break to make it 79-71 with 1:19 left and the Hoosiers finished the game scoring the last eight points from three throw line as Trey Galloway hit four free throws and Myles Rice and Oumar Ballo hitting two free throws each as Indiana did not score a field goal for the last 2:59 of the game.
Indiana has scored 80 or more points in all three games which is first time since the start of the 2022-23 season that the team has scored 80 or more points in three straight games, but Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson was not pleased with the offensive performance. “We scored 87 points, and I don’t know how we got there.” Woodson said after the game. Indiana’s backcourt depth has been a big key since the Hoosiers were lacking that a season ago with several offseason additions in the backcourt. “I learned a valuable lesson from last season, we have enough perimeter players this season and I feel good about everybody” Mike Woodson Said. The Hoosiers will host UNC-Greensboro on Thursday Night at 6:30 PM.
Bloomington South wins back-to-back Class 5A Regional Football Titles The Bloomington South Panthers beat the Castle Knights 28-21 Friday Night at Fred Huff Memorial Field on the Southside of Bloomington to win the Class 5A Regional Football Championship for the second straight season and the 13th in program history. The Panthers will host Decatur Central next Friday for the Semi State Championship at 7pm. Decatur Central is 9-2 on the season and beat East Central 21-16 at home for their third Regional Title in program history and the second consecutive and this will be a rematch of last year’s Semi State Championship Game where the Hawks beat the Panthers 21-16 at Decatur Central to advance to the State Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Panthers have won four straight and improve to 8-4 on the season while Castle ends its season with a 9-3 mark. Bloomington South Quarterback Duncan Combs finished 22-26 for 245 yards passing and 2 touchdowns and Running Back Braylen Townsend had 34 carries for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bloomington South scored 40 seconds into the game when Duncan Combs found Sam Giles over the middle for 58 yards and the Panthers led 7-0 putting Castle on its heels for the entire game. The Panthers Bryce Taylor missed a field goal wide left with 4:18 left in the first quarter. The Panthers had a 40-yard touchdown pass taken off the board by an illegal man down field penalty and led 7-0 after the first quarter and held the Knights to 39 yards of offense and two first downs while the Panthers had 158 yards in the opening quarter. The Panthers scored one minute into the second quarter as Combs from Thomas Gill wide open from 6 yards out to make it 14-0 Panthers. Castle got on the board with 6:16 left in the second quarter as Boden Morgan found Carter Bobe for 80-yard score to cut the lead 14-7. Bloomington South faced a fourth down at the 8-yard line and needing just 2 yards to get the first down Braylen Townsend scored making it 21-7 Panthers with 1:39 left in the second quarter as the Panthers went into the locker room up two touchdowns and dominated the first half 303 yards of offense as the Knights had 168 yards.
Castle scored with 9:09 left in the third quarter as Boden Morgan threw his second touchdown pass of the game finding Tight End Josh Aigner from 8 yards out to make 21-14 Panthers. Braylen Townsend answered for the Panthers with a 2-yard score for his second touchdown of the night to make it 28-14 Panthers with 6:48 left in the third quarter. Boden Morgan scored his first rushing touchdown of the night to make it 28-21 Panthers with 4:06 left in the third quarter. Bloomington South got a huge stop on third down with 7:31 left in the ball game to force the Knights to Punt. Bloomington South kept it on the ground with Townsend getting a big run into Castle territory. The Panthers faced a 4th and 7 from the Knights 29-yard line when Combs found Connor Parker for the first down. Bloomington South went for the field goal to ice the game, and Castle was called for a roughing the kicker penalty giving the Panthers a first down at three-yard line and lifting the Regional Title for the second year in a row.
This was the eighth meeting between these two teams in the postseason dating back to 1983 and the fifth meeting in the last six seasons. Bloomington South leads 5-3 and the Panthers have won three of the five regional championship meetings and Bloomington South is 2-1 against Castle in sectional matchups. This was the first time in the eight meetings that the Knights made the trip to Bloomington from Newburgh which is just East of Evansville and a two-hour drive.
Indiana University Cross Country Men Place 7th, Women 9th at NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships The Indiana cross country teams raced to a seventh (men) and 9th (women) place finishes at the 2024 NCAA Great Lakes Regional at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio. The women were led by Great Lakes All-Region performer senior Mariah Wehrle. She finished 19th for the Hoosiers in a time of 20:01.7. She nearly set another lifetime best after running a 20:01.6 at the conference championships. Sophomore and Bloomington South Graduate Lily Myers was the next to cross the finish with a time of 20:47.4. Freshman Joey Rastrelli had a great race for the Hoosiers in her first regional race. She set a lifetime best of 21:05.8, improving off her time at the Big Ten Championships.
On the men’s side, junior Abe Eckman had an outstanding performance, moving up nine spots in the final lap, to finish 12th. He ran a lifetime best in the 10k with a time of 29:32.6. Graduate student Skylar Stidam crossed the finish in 21st to earn All-Region. He ran a lifetime best of 29:41.6. Teammate Martin Segurola finished 33rd in his first career 10k cross country race in a time of 29:56.3. Freshmen duo Dylon Nalley (64th, 30:43.9) and Tony Provenzano (83rd, 31:05.4) posted personal bests in their first career 10k. Notre Dame swept the regional race after they earned the automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. The No. 6 ranked women totaled 51 points for the win before the No. 19 nationally ranked men’s team finished first with 70 points in the 10k.
2024 NCAA Cross Country All-Region • Abe Eckman (12th) • Skylar Stidam (21st) • Mariah Wehrle (19th)
Men’s Team Results (10K) – Top 10 Teams 1. Notre Dame (70)
2. Wisconsin (82) 3. Butler (104)
4. Michigan State (104)
5. Purdue (149)
6. Michigan (150)
7. Indiana (213)
8. Ohio State (214)
9. Youngstown State (224)
10. Cincinnati (327)
Women’s Team Results (6K) – Top 10 Teams 1. Notre Dame (51)
2. Wisconsin (97)
3. Toledo (100)
4. Michigan State (111)
5. Ohio State (156)
6. Michigan (202)
7. Ohio (205)
8. Indiana State (244)
9. Indiana (282)
10. Eastern Michigan (311)
Indiana University Softball Announces Three Signees for its 2025 Signing Class Indiana Softball head coach Shonda Stanton has announced the program’s newest signing class on Friday morning. The Hoosiers will add three players as part of its 2025 signing class. Jada Ellison, Maddie Engle and Aubree Hooks will arrive in Bloomington in the fall of 2025.
Jada Ellison -OF | Murfreesboro, Tenn. | Oakland High School More on Ellison- Bats/Throws: L/R. High school coach is Charlotte Peay. Four-year varsity letterwinner. Plays travel ball for Fury Platinum National Davenport. Hit .479 AVG for travel team with 44 stolen bases. Participates in Student Council. Intended Major: Business Real Estate. Parents are Pontraell and Candace Ellison and her siblings are Pontraell Jr. and Lekkkerick.
On picking IU… JE: “I am so excited to be a part of the IU softball family that I have been watching grow for a few years now and not only within the team but the whole fanbase.”
Madde Engle-C/UT | New Palestine, Ind. | New Palestine High School More on Engle… Bats/Throws: R/R. High school coach is Ed Marcum. 2024 State Runner-up with New Palestine. 2023 All-Conference honoree. Four-year varsity letterwinner. Plays travel ball for Indiana Bombers 25/26 Keown. Participates in Concert Band. National Honor Society and Student Council member. Academic Excellence honoree for having a 3.7+ GPA. Intended Major: Sport Marketing & Management. Parents are Jeff and Ronda Engle. Ronda went to IU. Has a brother named Cooper.
On picking IU… ME: “Right as I walked on campus, I knew it was home. Culture, campus, coaches, team, everything is perfect.”
Aubree Hooks-P/1B | Alabaster, Ala. | Thompson High School More on Hooks… Bats/Throws: R/R. High school coach is Kevin Todd. Four-year varsity letterwinner. 130.2 IP, 22-4 record, 141 strikeouts, 1.2 ERA. Hit for a .336 AVG, .370 OBP, 3 HR, 33 RBI. 2024 Shelby County Pitcher of the Year. 2024 Second Team All-State. Plays travel ball for Impact Gold Premier – Warrick. Two-time Athletes Go Live All-Tournament Team. Top 100 pitcher by Extra Innings Softball 2025 rankings. Member of Beta Club and Spanish Honor Society. Also, in DECA, Key Club and is a Thompson High School Ambassador. Parents are Michael and LeAnn Hooks. Has a brother named Brodie.
On picking IU… AH: “I fell in love with the campus and family atmosphere in Bloomington! Absolutely love the coaches and how supportive they are. Indiana feels like home!”