INDIANAPOLIS - Anytime Curt Cignetti steps in front of an audience and comes into possession of microphone, fireworks are sure to ensue.
The first time Indiana fans got a taste for Cignetti's intrepid personality was back in early December, just 48 hours after he was announced as Indiana's next head football coach.
The former James Madison head coach found himself standing on Branch McCracken Court inside Assembly Hall in front of 17,000 rowdy fans, eagerly awaiting what Cignetti had to say.
"I've never taken a back seat to anybody," Cignetti began at the under-12 media timeout of Indiana basketball's Big Ten opener versus Maryland. "Purdue sucks... and so does Michigan and Ohio State."
As the deafening round of applause rained down upon Cignetti from all corners of that raucous Assembly Hall crowd, the Pennsylvania native thrust his left arm into the air triumphantly.
Ever since those now infamous comments, Cignetti's continuous and unabashed self-assuredness has captivated Indiana football fans everywhere.
On Thursday, when it was Cignetti's turn to speak in front of the microphone and officially introduce himself to the rest of the Big Ten, the 63-year-old did so in a way only he could do.
He was bold, entertaining and some may say arrogant -- all characteristics those around Indiana have come to expect from Cignetti -- as he flashed the same passion and swagger that has Indiana football fans believing again.
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It took Cignetti all of 90 seconds to address one of the biggest elephants in the room during his opening statement on Thursday.
For all the confidence Cignetti has portrayed ever since his hiring, his Hoosiers are still projected to finish at the bottom of the Big Ten in 2024.
“Now, I can tell you, normally at these things I stand up here and we’re picked to win the league. It’s just usually how it’s been,” Cignetti declared matter-of-factly. “I have been picked next to last twice, which we're picked 17th out of an 18-team league, and I get it. The two times I've been picked next to last, in 2022, we won the conference championship, and in 2017 we inherited an 8-45 team and won eight in a row and played JMU the last game of the year for the conference championship."
"Now I'm not into making predictions, that's just a historical fact. I know you guys have been waiting for me to say something crazy," Cignetti continued, acknowledging the brash persona he's undertaken. "That wasn't quite crazy."
That was just the beginning for Cignetti on Thursday afternoon at his Big Ten Media Days debut.
After casting doubt on his team's lowly preseason projections, Cignetti pivoted to one of his trademark sentiments, once again delivering the message in the direct manner that Indiana fans have quickly become accustomed to.
"There shouldn't be any limitations on what we can accomplish in football," Cignetti remarked. "Somebody asked me, how do you define success at Indiana? I was like, well, we want to be the best."
"I mean, you don't bring your kids up, Johnny, I want you to be fourth best. I want you to be tenth best. Bullshit," Cignetti continued straight-faced. "We want to be the best. So when I talk about no self-imposed limitations, that's what I'm talking about."
Likening the Indiana football program to a kid named Johnny may seem out of the ordinary of a college football head coach, but it isn't for Cignetti.
That's just who he is.
It becomes evident rather quickly the inherent disdain that Indiana's first-year head coach has for losing. He can't stand it.
"I'm not going to tolerate not being successful," Cignetti put it later in the day.
He didn't take the Indiana job to get the Hoosiers back to a bowl game, or to have a winning season every now and then. Cignetti won't rest until his Hoosiers are at the top.
The issue with talking all that talk, is that you have to back it up by walking the walk, something Cignetti understands completely.
He can say whatever he wants leading up to the season, but in the end, those are just words.
It's up to Cignetti and his team to back up the talk on the field when the time comes.
"When I say I feel like we've made a lot of progress, I understand we've got to put it on the field. Nothing gets people excited like winning," Cignetti explained. "Now, I've kind of had to speak a big game taking over a job likes this because we had to wake some people up and create some excitement."
Cignetti has done just that during his first few months at the helm of Indiana, just ask his players.
"He's a winner, he wins football games," offensive lineman Mike Katic said regarding Cignetti. "If you want to be successful in the Big Ten, you better have that confidence and that swagger about you."
"Everyone walks around with some swagger and some confidence," Katic continued. "That bridges off from what he does and how he carries himself. He does a really good job leading us by example."
The buzz around this Indiana program entering the 2024 season is not something the previous regime was able to drum up with much frequency or success.
This year, however, has a slightly different feel to it with Cignetti now running the show, and he can feel it himself.
"I've been told this is the most excitement around (Indiana football) in a long time. The fan base is excited, that's a great thing," Cignetti said. "Now we've got to make a statement for the rest of college football fans in the state, in Big Ten country and around the nation."
During Thursday's festivities, Cignetti also got a moment to reflect back on that Friday in early December inside of Assembly Hall, back where it all began.
"I just ramped that up a little bit. Got 17,000 people in the basketball arena, right? I have to get them excited," Cignetti said with a grin. "The first part was easy, then why stop there? Why set the bar at 6-6? Our goal is to go after these two."
Of course, the "these two" Cignetti's referring to are Michigan and Ohio State, the two teams at the top of the Big Ten year in and year out.
Those are the heights Cignetti has envisioned himself taking this Indiana team to.
From his early December comments inside of Assembly Hall to the infamous "I win... google me" remark he made around Christmas time to his overall brazen swagger, it's all apart of who Cignetti is.
There's a method to the madness for the Hoosiers' new head football coach.
It's not a facade at all, it's simply who Cignetti is at his core because "after all, this is the entertainment business too."
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