BORDEN — As Sens. Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz unveiled legislation aimed at tackling various hot-button topics in collegiate athletics, Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti remained reluctant to weigh in on the issues, even as he acknowledged the cost to build a competitive roster is spiraling out of control.
“The market is pretty expensive,” Cignetti said, before speaking at an event at the athletic department’s annual booster event at Huber’s Orchard & Winery. “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.”
The “Protect College Sports Act of 2026” contains provisions to address that, including a hard salary cap and additional enforcement mechanisms. It would also seek to put rules in place, such as a one-time transfer rule and restrictions on former professional athletes playing in college, along with an antitrust exemption to avoid having the rules contested in court.
The Big Ten recently held its annual spring meetings, where university presidents, athletic directors, and coaches gathered to discuss many of those same topics. Cignetti declined to offer any insight into what rules or changes, if any, he advocated for.
“We all have our opinions, and, you know, what’s the point?” Cignetti said.. “I just hope we get things fixed.”
That’s been Cignetti’s stance since arriving in Bloomington. He’s been publicly supportive of Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti’s approach and the conference’s focus on expanding the CFP to 24 teams. He reiterated that sentiment on Wednesday in Borden.
“You know, again, you know, I know what our people support, and I support what our people support,” Cignetti said. “For me to comment on this or that, you know, I got no control over this process.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football’s Curt Cignetti sounds alarm on rising costs of building roster
Reporting by Michael Niziolek, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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