In late June, Indiana quietly axed a home-and-home with Virginia scheduled for 2027 and '28. It was a decision that might've flown under the radar outside Bloomington, Ind., and Charlottesville, Va.—but with coach Curt Cignetti in charge of the Hoosiers, nothing stays under the radar for very long.
On Tuesday at the Big Ten's annual media summit in Las Vegas, a reporter asked Cignetti about the cancellation. Cignetti fired back with his typical acerbic wit.
"We figured we’d just adopt an SEC scheduling philosophy," Cignetti quipped via Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star, providing some data to back up his barb.
Indiana took a torrent of criticism for its non-conference schedule of Florida International, Charlotte and Western Illinois in 2024—a durable charge toward up-and-coming power-conference programs. The Hoosiers now seem to be doubling down in this regard. They'll play Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State this year, and their next major-conference non-league game in the regular season is currently scheduled for 2030.
The recipe seems to be working: Indiana went 11–2 a year ago for its best winning percentage since 1945, and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Indiana's Curt Cignetti Responds to Scheduling Question With Harsh Critique of SEC.