Curt Cignetti Tabbed as the Home Depot National Coach of the Year Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti was named the Home Depot National Coach of the Year on Thursday night during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show broadcast on ESPN. He is the fourth Indiana head coach to win a national coach of the year award after orchestrating one of the biggest turnarounds in FBS history. Cignetti joins the likes of Bo McMillin (1945; AFCA), John Pont (1967; AFCA, FWAA, The Sporting News, Walter Camp Foundation) and Tom Allen (2020; AFCA) to win national coach of the year. He is also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year and a part of the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award watch list.
He was named the Hayes-Schembechler Big Ten Coach of the Year from the conference coaches and the Dave McClain Coach of the Year from the media that covers the Big Ten earlier this month. The honors from the Big Ten mark the fourth time in his career that he earned coach of the year accolades from a conference office, doing so once at each of his previous stops. He was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012, the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2017 and Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2023. Cignetti has engineered an eight-game improvement from Indiana’s 2023 to 2024 seasons. That number currently sits tied for the second-best improvement by a first-year head coach since at least 1996. He was the first-ever Division I head coach to start 8-0 or better in consecutive seasons at different institutions. He led James Madison to a 10-0 mark to start the 2023 season and pushed Indiana to an identical mark to begin the 2024 slate.
The 11 victories in 2024 are the most in program history and mark the first double-digit win season in Hoosier history. Likewise, the eight wins in Big Ten play are the most by an IU team since joining the conference in 1900. He is the only Indiana head coach to start a season at least 4-0 and joined the select group of Big Ten coaches that started their Big Ten tenures with 10-0 overall records in the AP Poll Era (since 1936): Ryan Day (Ohio State, 2018-19), Urban Meyer (Ohio State, 2012), Earle Bruce (Ohio State, 1979), Bennie Oosterbaan (Michigan, 1948-49) and Carroll Widdoes (Ohio State, 1944-45). Indiana has reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history and reaches the postseason for the 13th time. The Hoosiers will take on Notre Dame in the CFP First Round on Friday night inside Notre Dame Stadium at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air on ABC/ESPN with a special Friday night College GameDay on site in South Bend starting at 3:30 p.m. and leading up to kickoff.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball clicks on all cylinders in a rout over Bellarmine The Indiana Hoosiers lead start to finish in a 95-61 win over the Bellarmine Knights Sunday afternoon in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana is 8-3 on the season and will have another week off before they host the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Next Sunday at Noon in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Bellarmine sees a six-game winning streak comes to end to improve to 9-3 on the season. This was the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Indiana placed seven in double figures led by Karoline Striplin scoring 18 points going 7-10 from the field and 4-5 from the free throw line. Striplin has scored 45 points in the last two games going 19-22 from the field 1-1 from three-point range and 6-7 from the free throw line along with 12 rebounds after Joining the Hoosiers in the off season the Alabama native has gotten comfortable with her new team and finding her role being the first off, the bench and being a spark “Now that I’ve kind of gotten my groove, I don’t want to stop.” Karoline Striplin said after the game. Yarden Garzon scored 16 points. Junior Henna Sandvik scored a career high 13 points off the bench going 4-6 from the field 3-4 from three-point range and 2-4 from the free throw line. Shay Ciezki, Lilly Meister and Lexus Bargesser all scored 11 points apiece and Juliana LaMendola added 10 points. Sydney Parrish went through warmups but did not play and is closer to returning after missing the last five games with a knee injury and after the game Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren provided an update on her status. “Sydney’s been pleased with her progress and feels good about the process. After consulting with Ben and our doctors, we felt giving her another week would help her feel fully ready to return.”
The Hoosiers went 37-66 from the field for 56%, 10-26 from three-point range for 38% and 11-17 from the free throw line for 64%. The Hoosiers pulled down 41 rebounds, dished out 27 assists, 6 blocks, 3 steals, 46 points in the paint, 45 bench points and committed 11 turnovers. Freshman Valentyna Kadlecova scored her first points as a Hoosier nailing a three with 57 seconds left in the ballgame. The Hoosiers scored 27 points apiece in the first and second quarter and added 22 points in the third quarter and 19 points in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers put together one of their best games off the season sharing the ball, knocking down the outside shot and getting stops along with a balance attack. Skylar Treadwell led the Knights with 14 points, Erin Toller who hit two three pointers in the last five seconds to beat Chattanooga in their last game added 11 points off the bench. Hayley Harrison scored 10 points. The Knights finished 22-55 from the field for 40%, 5-14 from three-point range and 12-18 from the free throw line for 66%. Bellarmine pulled down 27 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks, 22 bench points, 22 points in the paint and committed 18 turnovers.
Indiana jumped out to a 7-0 lead and led 17-8 after the first quarter with Garzon and LaMendola draining three pointers at the end of the quarters. The Hoosiers increased to lead to 24 in the second quarter outscoring the Knights 27-16 in the second quarter and went to the locker room leading 54-30 at halftime. Bellarmine got within 10 points with 8:36 left in the second quarter trailing 29-19 as the Hoosiers push the lead to 30 points with 1:48 left before halftime leading 53-23. In the third quarter Indiana outscored Bellarmine 22-18 in the third quarter and led 76-48 after three quarters. The Hoosiers closed it out in the fourth quarter outscoring the Knights 19-13. Bellarmine got within 21 points with 9:11 left in the third quarter trailing 56-35 and the Hoosiers increased the lead to 31 at 71-40 with 3:51 left in the third quarter. Indiana gets another week to rest and get ready for Oakland and a possible return for Sydney Parrish in the final non-conference game of the season. The Hoosiers continue to take it one day at time and one game at a time and hopefully the pieces with all be put back in place but for now they are doing with the ones they have available and getting results.
Nebraska owns Indiana University Men’s Basketball by Double Digits for the Fourth Straight Time The Nebraska Cornhuskers went on a 17-1 run the last six minutes and twenty-seven seconds to pull away from the Indiana Hoosiers 85-68 Friday Night at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Hoosiers went ice cold from the field late in the second half going 1 of 18 from the field and 0-12 down the stretch as the Hoosiers did not score for the last three minutes and eight seconds of the game. Nebraska did not hit a field goal for the last two minutes and forty-one seconds, but they protect home court as they won all 10 Big Ten Games at home a season ago. Nebraska is 7-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten and the Hoosiers are 1-1 in the Big Ten and 8-3 overall. Indiana will have the week off and return home to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to face Chattanooga at Noon next Saturday.
Brice Williams led Nebraska with 30 points going 10-15 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range and 8-11 from the free throw line. Juwan Gary added 14 points, Fort Wayne Native and Central Noble Grad Connor Essegian scored 13 points and Andrew Morgan scored 10 points. Nebraska finished 30-49 from the field for 61%, 8-14 from three-point range for 57% and 17-26 from the free throw line for 65%. The Cornhuskers pulled down 35 rebounds, dished out 16 assists, 5 steals,1 block, 36 points in the paint, 28 bench points and committed 14 turnovers.
Myles Rice scored 20 points to lead the Hoosiers. Malik Reneau added 12 points and Trey Galloway scored 10 points. Indiana finished the game 23-65 from the field for 35%, 8-35 from three-point range for 23% and 14-20 from the free throw line for 70%. The Hoosiers pulled down 35 rebounds as Oumar Ballo had 11 of those. The Hoosiers dished out 10 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks, 24 points in the paint, 16 bench points and committed 9 turnovers.
Indiana got off to a rough start as Mackenzie Mgbako picked up 2 fouls in the first 32 seconds before any points in the game were scored. Nebraska’s Brice Williams hit two free throws to give the Cornhuskers a 2-0 lead and Nebraska led 8-0 with 18:02 to go in the first half before Indiana got on the board with a Trey Galloway Three to make it 8-3 with 17:45 left in the opening period. The Cornhuskers scored the next 5 points to force Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson call a timeout down 13-3 with 16:50 left in the first half. The Cornhuskers went 5-5 from the field, 1-1 from three-point range and 2-2 from the free throw line to start the game.
Indiana settled down and chipped away at the lead as the Hoosiers went on a 16-6 run as Malik Reneau’s second free throw gave the Hoosiers their first lead of the game at 20-19 with 11:37 left in the first half. Luke Goode drained his second three pointer of the game put the Hoosiers up 23-19 at the 11:04 mark. The game went back and forth as Indiana led by 4 twice and Nebraska had a five-point lead with 58 seconds left before the break 44-39. Nebraska went into the locker room leading 44-41 as the Huskers finished the first half shooting 15-23 from the field for 65%, 5-7 from three-point range for 71% and 9-13 from the free throw line for 69%. Indiana finished the first half 13-29 from the field for 44%, 5-15 from three-point range for 33% and 10-14 from the free throw line for 71% as the Hoosiers did not have a field for the final four minutes and eight seconds of the first half,
In the second half Nebraska had a nine-point lead with 13:44 left leading 58-49. The Hoosiers chipped away and tied the game up on two occasions 62-62 with 10:35 left and 64-64 with 9:57 left. Nebraska then shut the Hoosiers down as Indiana settled for outside shots and could not knock any down as Nebraska outscored Indiana 21-4 the rest of the way. Nebraska has won the last 4 meetings over Indiana all by double digits as the Hoosiers lead the all-time series 19-11. Indiana was playing its first true road game of the season after going 1-2 in the Bahamas and losing both games by double-digits. Indiana’s 35 three-point attempts are the most by a Mike Woodson coached team and the first time the Hoosiers in three plus seasons the Hoosiers have broken 30 attempts in a game. There are going to be more and more questions every time Indiana falls especially on the road and by double digits and the hot seat is getting hotter for Mike Woodson since the Hoosiers have suffered more double-digit losses under his watch and anybody wants to count.
Samuel Sarver and Quinton Elliot Extend Indiana University Men’s Soccer’s All-America Legacy United Soccer Coaches announced its 2024 NCAA Division I All-America teams Friday which included two players from the Indiana men’s soccer program. Senior forward Samuel Sarver repeated as a third-team All-America selection, becoming the 19th Hoosier to win multiple All-America honors. Junior defender Quinton Elliot was a first-time selection, making the second team. Indiana has produced an All-American in each of the last 11 seasons – the nation’s longest active streak – as well as 14 of the last 15 seasons. During the 11-year run, 13 different Hoosiers have combined for 19 All-America honors. Elliot is the 51st Indiana player to earn All-America status, with those 51 players having totaled 81 honors over 52 seasons.
Elliot and Sarver make up half of the four Hoosiers to earn both first-team All-North Region and first-team All-Big Ten honors this season, alongside seniors Patrick McDonald and Tommy Mihalic. Sarver totaled five goals, eight assists and 18 points in his final season. The senior totaled 70 points in his four years, becoming the fourth Hoosier during the 21st century to reach that milestone. Sarver led IU offensively during a late-season unbeaten run that culminated in a share of the Big Ten regular season championship, recording 10 G/A in that span. A Charleston, West Virginia, native and Louisville transfer, Elliot recorded three assists and a career-high three goals during his first season as a Hoosier. Elliot also reached his best form during that 10-game unbeaten run; In a three-match conference stretch between Oct. 15-25, Elliot had four G/A and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on October 22.
United Soccer Coaches/NCSAA All-Americans
Indiana Men’s Soccer – Last 11 Seasons
| 2024 | Quinton Elliot |
| Samuel Sarver | |
| 2023 | Samuel Sarver |
| 2022 | Daniel Munie |
| 2021 | Roman Celentano |
| Daniel Munie | |
| 2020-21 | Victor Bezerra |
| Roman Celentano | |
| Spencer Glass | |
| 2019 | Jack Maher |
| Aidan Morris | |
| 2018 | Trey Muse |
| Andrew Gutman | |
| Griffin Dorsey | |
| 2017 | Grant Lillard |
| Andrew Gutman | |
| 2016 | Tanner Thompson |
| 2015 | Tanner Thompson |
| 2014 | Tanner Thompson |
Big Ten Selects 113 Indiana Hoosiers Student-Athletes for Fall Academic Honor Roll The Big Ten Conference recognized a total of 2,001 students on fall sports rosters who have been named to the All-Big Ten Team Thursday. The list of honorees includes 144 field hockey students, 772 football students, 163 men’s and 250 women’s cross-country students, 185 men’s and 317 women’s soccer students and 170 volleyball students. Indiana athletics is represented by 113 Hoosier student-athletes selected to the conference honor roll.
“Congratulations to our academic All-Big Ten honorees for succeeding on the highest levels in the classroom while also juggling the demands that come with being an Indiana University student-athlete. As a department and as a university, we take great pride in seeing our students excel academically, which is why we are pleased to be able to recognize these 113 students for performing at the highest levels. Congratulations to them, their families, and to our department’s unsung heroes – our academic staff – in this special accomplishment.” To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team (as verified by being on the official squad list as of Nov. 1 for fall sports), have been enrolled full time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
Men’s Cross Country (11)
Nico Colchico
Abe Eckman
Brayden Henkle
Garrett Hicks
Nate Killeen
Andrew Mangum
Camden Marshall
Nolan Satterfield
Martin Segurola
Keefer Soehngen
Skylar Stidham
Women’s Cross Country (11)
Phoebe Bates
Emma Everhart-Deckard
Catie McCabe
Lily Myers
Claire Overfelt
Addison Price
Madison Russin
Tori Schmidt
Grace Tyson
Mariah Wehrle
Katelyn Winton
Field Hockey (18)
Sofia Arrebola Garcia
Javiera Baeza
Margaret Carter
Jemima Cookson
Meghan Dillon
Ines Garcia Prado
Sydney Keld
Kayla Kiwak
Meredith Lee
Kate Longo
Arabella Loveridge
Cecilia Maixner
Lara Mortz
Anna Mozeleski
Theresa Ricci
Hannah Riddle
Yip van Wonderen
Ava Winner
Football (26)
Clayton Allen
Austin Barrett
Reece Bellin
Aden Cannon
Anthony Chung
Clay Conner
Drew Evans
James Evans
Vince Fiacable
Brody Foley
Jack Greer
Cooper Jones
Isaiah Jones
Camden Jordan
Bray Lynch
Jaxon Miller
Lincoln Murff
Alejandro Quintero
Kaiden Turner
Andrew Turvy
Trey Walker
Finn Walters
Jackson Wasserstrom
Daniel Weems
Sam West
Max Williams
Men’s Soccer (17)
Alex Barger
Luka Bezerra
Joel Demian
EJ Dreher
JT Harms
Cooper Johnsen
Alex Kara
Tommy Mihalic
Jansen Miller
Clay Murador
Collins Oduro
Justin Shreffler
Seth Stewart
Jack Wagoner
Lucas Wolthers
Grant Yeagley
Justin Weiss
Women’s Soccer (21)
Ava Abu-Akeel
Olivia Albert
Elle Britt
Piper Coffield
Paige Droner
Marisa Grzesiak
Camille Hamm
Abbey Iler
Dani Jacobson
Ellie Johannes
Natasha Kim
Sydney Masur
Krista Murphy
Kennedy Neighbors
Shea O’Malley
Emma Payton
Arianna Rose
Olivia Rush
Sarah Sirdah
Olivia Smith
Mary Kate Sullivan
Volleyball (9)
Candela Alonso-Corcelles
Kenzie Daffinee
Luca Fickell
Ramsey Gary
Morgan Geddes
Delaynie Maple
Carly Mills
Mady Saris
Ava Vickers
Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball Player Thomas Bryant Traded to the Indiana Pacers from the Miami Heat It will be a homecoming of sorts for former IU basketball star Thomas Bryant. The Miami Heat have agreed to a trade to send Bryant to the Indiana Pacers, Shams Charania is reporting for ESPN. The deal comes after the Pacers lost multiple big men to injuries and began a search for depth that landed on the 6-foot-10 Bryant. The Pacers will send a future second-round pick to the Heat for Bryant, Charania says.
Now in his eighth season in the league, Bryant has averaged 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds over his career. The 27-year-old Bryant was taken in the second round by Utah in 2017 but was sent to the Lakers as part of a trade. He played four years in Washington before signing with the Lakers again two years ago. He then went to Denver midseason during the 2022-23 campaign and won a championship. Bryant and Denver faced Miami, Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller in the 2023 NBA Finals. Bryant joined the Heat for the 2023-24 season and renewed with them this year.
The Rochester, N.Y. native had a diminished role this season with the Heat. He’s averaging 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11 minutes a game. Bryant’s best season came in 2020-21 with Washington when he was averaging 14.3 points per game and shot 42.9% from three before suffering a season-ending injury. A two-time third-team All-Big Ten selection, Bryant is Indiana’s all-time and single season leader in field goal percentage (59.2 and 68.3, respectively). As a freshman at IU, his 15 points in the second half led the Hoosiers to a 73-67 win over No. 10 Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.