Indiana
Scott Dolson wanted Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti to know ‘how much we’re committed’
What Curt Cignetti’s new contract with Indiana football means
As his name came up around coaching vacancies, the Hoosiers coach said he was tired of the outside noise. A new deal with IU will help silence that.
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana is a football school now. Adjust accordingly.
Of the many things Curt Cignetti’s new eight-year, $93 million contract signaled when it broke abruptly Thursday afternoon, understand that first. And recognize it as most important.
This place that has been for so long synonymous with basketball — so smitten with the game it learned to love during the cold, dark winter between harvest and planting — is now all in on football at a level there’s really no going back from.
“I couldn’t be more proud to be a Hoosier, and I plan on retiring as a Hoosier,” Cignetti said in a short video posted to IU football’s Twitter account Thursday. “The way that this state has embraced us and our success in football has meant more to me than anything else. So, I just wanted to get on camera and let you know that Curt Cignetti is gonna work daily to make Indiana the best it can be.”
His words firmed up what his department’s dollars, his donors’ investment and his team’s performances have all illustrated across the last 22 months:
Indiana has been completely recoded. Football comes first here, and football is flying.
Cignetti’s new contract — negotiated in the shadow of a coaching carousel expected to be among the busiest and most robust in recent memory — likely ensures he is going nowhere.
It reflects years of steady, stubborn investment in football from an athletic department and a university assured for a generation the sport was a hopeless enterprise in this part of the world. Thanks to both Cignetti’s success, and the sport’s reimagined conventions around roster planning, construction and development, that old wisdom now looks foolish.
Saturday’s win at Oregon, arguably the most important and impressive in program history, stands as testament to Cignetti’s ability.
But it also reflects a decade and a half spent shoring up the foundations of a football program athletic director Scott Dolson — like Fred Glass before him — believed was capable of this. All it needed was to hand the right tools to the right coach.
The tools came first. Indiana spent more than $100 million on facilities, increased coaching salaries more than ninefold, invested media rights revenues by the sack full and, yes, even paid a big-boy buyout along the way.
The belief was always that this moment could and would arrive. That if IU just didn’t quit, eventually it would find a man to meet both the moment and the money. It is impossible now to suggest Cignetti doesn’t fit that description.
Thursday’s news signaled more than that, though. It also reflected an urgency both Dolson and university President Pam Whitten feel to ensure Indiana’s agency in football keeps the Hoosiers in the picture as college athletics shrinks its top table.
Both Dolson and Whitten know football is the currency that keeps not just a program or a department but perhaps an entire university relevant in the modern landscape.
IU acted this quickly, in the wake of one big job (Penn State) already opening, because it knew it needed to keep what it has.
Per an IndyStar source, Cignetti’s buyout in his new contract rises from $10 million (which it would have been after Dec. 1) to $15 million. And there are likely to be further sweetened incentives included, like an expanded staffing pool, and possibly promises of even greater revenue-sharing and name, image and likeness investment into a roster that stayed together impressively from Cignetti’s first year in Bloomington to his second.
In fans’ minds, Cignetti’s own words — “I plan on retiring a Hoosier” — probably offered the greatest comfort.
Actions, though, speak loudest. Cignetti’s willingness to sign a third contract in less than two seasons, and to further entrench himself within the program he’s turned into a national title contender, says more than his statement ever could.
“I think what’s super important is that President Whitten and I both wanted coach Cig to know how much we’re committed to him, and committed to football,” Dolson told IndyStar on Thursday. “That was really what led to the sense of urgency (around this contract). And then we also didn’t really want any distractions for the team.”
Now, that team pushes forward unfettered, into the back half of a season that by all rights should end in a Big Ten championship game, and then the College Football Playoff.
Realities that seemed like fantasy even two years ago have become commonplace now in Bloomington. They have been met with an enthusiasm that rivals anything this place has shown for hoops in the last 30 years.
This isn’t a basketball school playing football anymore. The conventions have been overturned.
Indiana is a football school now, and on current evidence, that’s not changing any time soon.
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
Indiana
Indiana EMT charged with sexually assaulting 14-year-old in the back of an ambulance during transport
(WXIN/WTTV) — An EMT working for an Indiana ambulance service has been arrested after accusations that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old while transporting them to the hospital.
Ronald D. Elliott Jr., 37, was officially charged Wednesday with a slew of child sex crimes. Online jail records show Elliott, who lives in Dunreith, was arrested Thursday and booked into Delaware County Jail without bond.
The arrest stems from accusations made by a 14-year-old who told police that Elliott sexually assaulted her in the back of an ambulance during a February transport from Muncie to Monroe County.
The alleged victim came forward on March 16 and told Indiana State Police investigators that an EMT had forced her into sexual contact while taking her to a medical facility in Bloomington.
The juvenile said that Elliott, who is listed as an EMT for Quest Ambulance Service, began showing her pictures and videos on his cell phone during the transport. The files reportedly included photos of Elliott’s genitals and videos of him engaged in sexual activities.
Elliott is then alleged to have groped the teenager under her clothes and exposed himself to her. The girl said this led to Elliott sexually assaulting her in the back of the ambulance while en route to Bloomington.
The 14-year-old said that, after the assault, Elliott provided her with his “Mr. Fogger” nicotine vape as well as his phone. The girl told officers she signed into her Instagram account on Elliott’s phone, and court documents state she failed to log off after leaving the ambulance.
It was through the girl’s Instagram account that Elliott allegedly found a second juvenile victim. Identified as Victim 2 in court documents, Elliott reportedly began messaging the 13-year-old girl on Instagram. Throughout his conversations, the 37-year-old EMT is alleged to have:
- Called the juvenile a “young sl-t”
- Lied about his age, claiming he was 18 years old
- Sent a picture of himself only wearing a towel
- Made “sexually suggestive” comments about “good naughty girls”
- Told the 13-year-old girl she “looks cute”
During an interview with Elliott conducted on March 25, the EMT reportedly admitted to letting the 14-year-old use his phone and nicotine vape. However, he denied any sexual contact with the girl and said that any nude images she may have seen on his phone were an accident.
After uncovering “corroborating evidence” from both Elliott’s cell phone and the victim’s Instagram account, police requested that a warrant be filed for his arrest. Online court records show that the warrant was granted on Thursday.
Indiana State Police said that Elliott was taken into custody without incident during a traffic stop. Delaware County Jail records show Elliott was booked around 2:30 p.m. Thursday. He now faces the following several Level 4 felony charges including child seduction, child solicitation, and sexual conduct with a minor.
No other information was included in the probable cause affidavit filed against Elliott.
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever continued their 2026 WNBA regular season with a 100-84 loss against the Portland Fire on Saturday, May 30.
Clark, a former Iowa women’s basketball star, and the Fever are 4-4 after the first eight games of the regular season.
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Here’s a look at how Clark fared in Saturday’s game in Portland:
Caitlin Clark stats today in Indiana Fever vs Portland Fire
Former Iowa Hawkeyes star Megan Gustafson scored a game-high 22 points for Portland in the Saturday victory.
Former Iowa State Cyclones star Bridget Carleton scored 14 points for the Fire.
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever upcoming games
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Caitlin Clark’s stats in Indiana Fever vs Portland Fire today
MOORESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — A Mooresville police officer was involved in a “serious crash,” Saturday afternoon, officials say.
According to a Facebook post made by the Mooresville Fire Department, officers are advising the public to avoid the area of the 200 block of East Main Street due to a “serious crash” involving a Mooresville Metropolitan Police officer.
East Main Street is currently closed between Maple Lane and Franklin Street.
Police say the roads will remain closed while a crash investigation is being conducted.
Police did not provide details on the officer’s condition.
This is a developing story.
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