Aiden Fisher says ‘Coach Cig’ drove Indiana’s turnaround
Former Hoosiers linebacker Aiden Fisher credits Curt Cignetti’s transfer-built roster and an overlooked-player mindset for Indiana’s title run.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
2 min read
For Aiden Fisher, the explanation for the Indiana turnaround came in two words: “Coach Cig.” In a December 2025 60 Minutes interview, the former Hoosiers linebacker credited coach Curt Cignetti and the players he brought to Bloomington with changing a program long associated with losing.
Fisher spoke while Indiana was 13-0, Big Ten champion and headed into the College Football Playoff. CBS later reported that the Hoosiers completed the run by beating Miami 27-21 in January for the program’s first CFP national championship.
What did Aiden Fisher say caused Indiana’s turnaround?
Fisher said Cignetti’s incoming players were “phenomenal” and wanted Indiana to become a winning program. He also pointed to a shared edge among players who arrived from less-heralded schools.
Fisher had been playing for James Madison when news broke that Cignetti was taking the Indiana job. His friends immediately assumed he would follow the coach, he told 60 Minutes. He did, joining a group shaped by the feeling that bigger programs had overlooked them.
That background, Fisher said, gave the locker room a chip on its shoulder. He said many Indiana players had not been recruited by the teams they would face, and they carried that perceived disrespect into games.
How did Curt Cignetti build Indiana’s roster?
Cignetti used the transfer portal, where athletes can make themselves available to move to another program, to reshape his roster. CBS reported that he recruited many players from outside college football’s top-ranked teams; the network separately reported that 13 players came with him from James Madison.
The coach described the portal as “basically free agency,” his characterization of a system that lets teams add and subtract players quickly. His recruiting preference, he said, was “production over potential.” A player who has performed for two or three seasons offers evidence of discipline, commitment, perseverance and an ability to stay on the field, Cignetti told CBS.
The formula arrived after a bleak starting point. CBS said Indiana entered that season as major college football’s losingest program, with more than 700 defeats. The Hoosiers had gone 3-9 in 2023 before athletic director Scott Dolson hired Cignetti.
Fisher was not ready to celebrate the turnaround in December. The Big Ten championship and unbeaten record felt good, he said, but he believed they would count for little without the national trophy. Indiana got it weeks later.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.