Indiana is finalizing a deal to make James Madison‘s Curt Cignetti the school’s next football coach, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Indiana fired Tom Allen on Sunday, a day after the Hoosiers completed their third consecutive losing season.
Allen, who had led Indiana since 2017, finished 33-49 as Hoosiers coach. The Hoosiers dropped their final three games, including Saturday’s rivalry contest at Purdue, to finish 3-9 this season. They have gone 9-26 overall and 3-24 in Big Ten play since the 2020 season.
Cignetti, named the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year on Thursday, guided James Madison through a seamless transition to the FBS. He led the Dukes to an 11-1 season this year, tops in the Sun Belt.
Under Cignetti, JMU led the nation in both rushing defense and tackles for loss per game, and it had a top-20 scoring offense and scoring defense.
Across five seasons, Cignetti has a 52-9 record at James Madison, including a 31-4 record in conference play.
James Madison is not eligible for the conference title game as it transitions from the FCS to FBS level, as NCAA rules state that schools are not eligible for the postseason for two years during the transition. But because there were not enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the slots, the Dukes are allowed to go bowling.