‘Because of those two people’: Curt Cignetti points to Whitten, Dolson as driving force behind Indiana's winning culture

Alongside Curt Cignetti and several of Indiana’s players on the national championship stage as the Hoosiers received their CFP trophy, were two more individuals — two individuals who didn’t appear on a single snap, didn’t call a single play and weren’t listed on the football roster in any capacity.

But if you ask Cignetti himself, he’d tell you that they were as integral to Indiana winning the national championship as anyone else inside the program. Indiana’s head coach never has enough nice things to say about IU President Pamela Whitten and Athletic Director Scott Dolson because he believes that their support is what spurred the magical turnaround that Indiana fans have seen over the last two seasons.

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Cignetti doesn’t mince words, he doesn’t add fluff when he doesn’t have to and he certainly doesn’t patronize anyone for the sake of complimenting them. When he speaks about Whitten and Dolson, he means it, and Cignetti sure talks about them a lot.

Whenever he’s asked about how he executed what can certainly be seen as the most improbable story in college football history, he obviously points to his staff, but he always gives credit to Whitten and Dolson — never just one, always both.

They’re a package deal, and with Cignetti in the mix, Indiana has a de facto “Big Three” of folks who orchestrated football becoming a powerhouse.

In an interview with Big Ten Network, Cignetti acknowledged once again that the only reason he even came to Indiana in the first place was because Whitten and Dolson were committed to taking football seriously.

“No question. It’s No. 1. It’s the only reason I’m here because I had that feeling about both of them,” he told Rick Pizzo during a conversation that included college sports issues, the upcoming season and more.

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But of course he had to bring up Whitten and Dolson because he feels so strongly about IU’s leadership, which was dead set on fielding a football winner.

Whitten previously mentioned that Indiana wasn’t going to treat football like an “intramural sport” anymore, and the 16-0 national title season certainly lived up to that.

But it started with a coaching search, one that resulted in Cignetti being selected as the man for the job. Alongside executive hiring consulting firm TurnkeyZRG, Dolson was confident in Cignetti as the coach who could execute Indiana’s plan to improve its football program.

But once Cignetti got to Bloomington, it was up to him to get it done. On football decisions, Dolson and Whitten yield to Cignetti. On executive and financial decisions, Cignetti yields to Whitten and Dolson.

That doesn’t mean that they make decisions without consulting one another, but when the time comes to make tough choices, they all have full trust in each other.

“We are totally aligned 100 percent,” he said. “Not only do we work together, we’re good friends. There’s total transparency in our communication.

In the world of uncertainty that college sports is, this is something that Cignetti doesn’t take for granted. And in a world where he’s received a lot of interest from other programs, he’ll be a “Hoosier for life” because of Whitten and Dolson.

“I’m here and will be here till I decide to hang it up because of those two people,” he told BTN.

Cignetti isn’t going anywhere until he retires, and if you’re a Hoosier fan, you have the leadership to thank for that. You might not like some decisions Dolson makes, and students might not appreciate what Whitten does on the academic side, but Cignetti is the head coach at Indiana University because of those two individuals.

But it’s not like IU is indebted to Cignetti just because he’s elected not to entertain other offers. In actuality, it almost feels like Cignetti feels like he owes Whitten and Dolson, given how often he voices his appreciation for them.

Even during the national championship celebration, one of the first things he mentioned was, “I can’t say enough about the commitment we receive from President Whitten and Scott Dolson.”

But would we expect anything different? Cignetti can’t stop expressing his gratitude for his president and athletic director.

They were the ones who decided to get serious about football, resulting in the now-65-year-old getting his first shot at a high-major program. They came together, each with a process and plan to succeed, and it blossomed into one of the most incredible sports stories ever told.

But it’s not done being written, as Cignetti’s commitment to winning hasn’t even come close to wavering — all because Whitten and Dolson’s commitment hasn’t lost its momentum, either.

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