Indiana HC Curt Cignetti gets brutally honest on ‘scary’ CFB landscape

A lot is going on with the world of college football right now, as NIL deals, the transfer portal, and the constant talk of expanding the College Football Playoff have changed the future outlook of the sport entirely. However, with the direction everything seems to be heading, Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti believes something needs to change to ensure college football survives.

Cignetti, who is 64 years old, claimed that college football is an incredibly expensive market right now, according to Colin McMahon of On3 Sports. While the 2025-26 national champion head coach believes student athletes deserve compensation, he also wants to see some changes made within the next one or two years. Otherwise, he believes college football will no longer exist.

“The market is pretty expensive — it’s scary,” said Cignetti. “It’s scary. I think players should get paid. But something’s going to have to be done in the next 12 to 24 months, or universities might not be able to handle this. College football won’t exist the way we’re going right now.”

What those changes are is unknown. The money being tossed around the nation has essentially made college football its own professional league. Players are signing NIL contracts and demanding money from programs. There is no hesitation with entering the transfer portal, either, making every school have to basically recruit the players already on the roster as well.

Perhaps some changes will be made in the future. Especially considering Curt Cignetti’s concerns are on par with what President Donald Trump said about how NIL could force colleges to go out of business.

Until then, Indiana, Cignetti, and the hundreds of other college football programs will continue playing games. The Hoosiers are scheduled to kick off the 2026-27 campaign with a home-opener in Week 1 against the North Texas Mean Green.

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