Curt Cignetti Briefly Discusses Current State of College Football
BORDEN, Ind.–Indiana Hoosier Head Football Coach Curt Cignetti gave some brief thoughts on the state of college football on Wednesday.
Cignetti is one of several college football coaches who have expressed concern about how much money it costs to build a competitive roster.
A new bipartisan bill called the ‘Protect College Sports’ Act has been agreed to in hopes of saving college athletics. President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders in an attempt to find some sort of unified solution that could help curtail the ongoing issues in college athletics pertaining to the transfer portal, NIL payments, eligibility rules and other problems that have led to multiple lawsuits filed against the NCAA. That bill will not be introduced until next week, which is when the Senate is back in session.
“College sports are at a breaking point. Fans can see their favorite teams being hollowed out by transfer chaos, fake NIL bidding wars, eligibility lawsuits, and a system that allows the richest programs to keep pulling away. The Protect College Sports Act is a bipartisan plan to restore order. Student athletes can profit from their name, image, and likeness, but college sports still needs real rules, competitive balance, rivalries, and a true connection to education. This bill protects athletes and fans and keeps college sports from becoming a two-conference minor league,” said Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. He co-authored the bill with Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington.
Cignetti deals with the struggle as he recruits high school players and finds players in the transfer portal.
“The market (for high school players) is pretty expensive. It’s scary. I think players should get paid. But something is gonna have to be done in the next 12-24 months, or universities aren’t going to be able to handle this. College football won’t exist the way we’re going right now,” said Cignetti before speaking at an IU athletic department booster event at Huber’s Orchard & Winery.
The Big Ten recently held its spring meetings. University Presidents, athletic directors, and coaches gathered at those meetings to discuss the current collegiate sports landscape, but Cignetti declined to offer any more insight into what rules or changes could be coming.
“I tell you what. I’m done on the college football issues. You can’t win,” said Cignetti.
He also acknowledged Indiana University has given both him and his team a great support system.
“I know what our people support, and I support what our people support. For me to comment on this or that, you know, I got no control over this process,” said Cignetti.
The Hoosiers start their regular season on September 5 at noon against North Texas in Bloomington.
“Now we’ve got to do our part and keep putting it on the field to keep this thing growing,” said Cignetti.
