‘We want this to be the new standard of Indiana football’: Scott Dolson shared insight behind Curt Cignetti’s extension

Curt Cignetti and Indiana football have taken the college football world by storm.

Whether it’s about the Hoosiers’ chances of making the playoff, how quickly Cignetti turned the program around, or his potential to leave for a different school, national media cannot stop talking about Indiana football.

The last topic was quickly put to rest as Scott Dolson, the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, was proactive in resigning Cignetti to a lucrative extension.

Dolson appeared on Inside IU Basketball and shared some new details about the extension.

Dolson met with IU President Pamela Whitten midway through the season and discussed the possibility of rewarding Cignetti with a new contract.

“I actually had an update meeting with President Whitten, and I remember thinking I don’t want [Cignetti] to start thinking are we going to come to him about a contract,” Dolson said.

Dolson wanted to be proactive in getting an extension done, but he made sure Cignetti knew it wasn’t about the potential poachers that could come.

“We know your value and we know where you are in the Big Ten. We wanted you to feel that,” Dolson said he told Cignetti. “It was important to me that he knew we weren’t doing it because of somebody else. We were doing it because of what he means to us and our investment into the program.”

Dolson and the university showed how much they value Cignetti as they made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.

While Dolson did not go into detail regarding the specifics of the contract, he shared that the school plans to continue its investment in the football program.

“We talked about what’s important moving forward for the program, that it’s definitely not all about him. He wants to make certain from a staff perspective, obviously from a player perspective, that we’re investing in all areas that are important to make this a sustainable vision for the program,” Dolson said. “That’s why he’s there. That’s why we’re in this together. So we started a conversation with his agent subsequently after that meeting. His agent was terrific and we ended up with a deal last week.”

That process has already started as the school invests to improve facilities. This offseason the turf at Mellencamp Pavilion, the team’s indoor practice facility, was replaced.

The new turf was just the start as Dolson spoke earlier about plans to improve Memorial Stadium.

When Cignetti was initially hired, the university made a point to further invest in him and Indiana football.

“We didn’t want to just hire him, give him the keys to the program, and move on,” Dolson said.

Cignetti has often said that a state university with the resources of IU should have no issues being competitive in football. The school has doubled down on that belief by continuing to invest resources into the success of the program.

While Dolson said he is enjoying the success of Indiana football, he is also focused on making sure it is sustainable.

“I‘m a little paranoid about thinking about what we need to continue to do, like resigning Coach Cig to a new contract. What do we need to keep doing as a department, as a university to support what is going on right now,” Dolson said.

Indiana football has had good years in the past but has never been able to sustain success.

After winning eight games in 2019 and finishing 6-2 in 2020, the program had high expectations heading into the 2021 season. What unfolded that season was nothing short of a disaster as the Hoosiers went 2-10 despite being a preseason top-25 team.

Sustaining the success of this season will not be an easy challenge, but  Dolson and Whitten understand what the success of Indiana football can do for not just athletics, but also for the university and the state.

“It’s bigger than the football program and the athletic department. It’s much bigger than that,” Dolson said.

It’s no secret what a good football program can do to help a university when it comes to admissions, donations, and much more.

Dolson recognizes that and also sees what is so special about Cignetti and the program he has built.

He understands that the job isn’t finished because of one good season. Dolson, President Whitten, and Cignetti all want the same thing.

“We want this to be the new standard of Indiana football. That’s what we’re building.”

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