Indiana's Curt Cignetti takes swipe at SEC amid questions around schedule

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The Indiana Hoosiers finished 11-2 and made an appearance in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history last season and are looking to build upon that success in 2025.

The Hoosiers start the season with Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State before Big Ten Conference play begins against Illinois on Sept. 20. However, the Hoosiers’ schedule was the topic of conversation during Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday.

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Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on July 22, 2025. (Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images)

Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti talked about why the school canceled a home-and-home series against the Virginia Cavaliers and took a swipe at the SEC in the process.

"That was a scheduling philosophy that began before I was hired. But I did sign off on it upon being hired, before our first season," he said, via On3 Sports. "Look, here’s the bottom line – we picked up an extra home game, and we play nine conference games. 

"The two best conferences in college football – any football guy that’s objective will tell you – is the Big Ten and the SEC. Twelve of the 16 SEC teams play three G5 (Group of 5) or an FCS game. Twelve of those teams play 36 games – 29 G5 games and seven FCS games, and one less conference game. So we figured we’d just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy. Some people don’t like it. I’m more focused in on those nine conference games."

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti looks on during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial