r/CFB • u/LaDainianTomIinson Florida Gators • UNLV Rebels • Jan 20 '26

History [Pompliano] Curt Cignetti took over the worst program in college football history and then proceeded to win the school’s first-ever national championship within just two years. It's the most remarkable coaching job in the history of sports.

https://x.com/joepompliano/status/2013466392553505228?s=46
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113

u/DarthNobody14 Texas A&M Aggies Jan 20 '26

I think we need to have one for post and pre NIL/Transfer Portal…

Pre: Bill Snyder

Post: Curt Cignetti

36

u/CLU_Three Kansas State Wildcats Jan 20 '26

Indiana was basically right there with us pre-Snyder and then didn’t get a Bill Snyder (or any of his successors)

39

u/I_POO_ON_GOATS Nebraska • Kansas State Jan 20 '26

KSU was in WAY worse shape than Indiana was. Snyder had to use his own money to upgrade KSU's facilities to be up to standard with local high schools.

20

u/LordStigg Nebraska Cornhuskers • Dalhousie Tigers Jan 20 '26

Indiana had the ability for a higher ceiling. Cignetti and Snyder are both incredible for what they did. Indiana was at least a blue blood in basketball. KSU was a blue blood in nothing and was thinking of shutting down the team.

4

u/bob_newhart_of_dixie Alabama Crimson Tide Jan 20 '26

Saban even hired away Indiana's main strength & conditioning guys a few years before he retired

4

u/CLU_Three Kansas State Wildcats Jan 20 '26

KSU had an absolutely elite basketball program. If people think of KU as a blueblood today, then you have to extend the same level of credit to KSU in the late 80s. The programs were nearly identical, the divergence is when we hired Snyder and lost to them in the 88 NCAAT.

I also don’t buy that there was ever any serious discussion about shutting down the program. It would’ve been such an obviously suicidal decision. That informations only came out many decades later during retrospectives where it benefits the narrative to talk trash on the program pre-Bill.

But yes, we were in a pretty bad spot. If you toured Indiana around the same time period I think things would’ve looked pretty similar though. Just a lot less money in the sport if you didn’t have a big gate draw.

1

u/OriginalMassless Hateful 8 • Kansas State Wildcats Jan 21 '26

Look at this comically incorrect doofus take.

8

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

[deleted]

4

u/I_POO_ON_GOATS Nebraska • Kansas State Jan 20 '26

If you haven't seen The Miracle in Manhattan yet, highly recommend the watch. It goes into great detail truly how hapless KSU was when Snyder arrived.

2

u/CLU_Three Kansas State Wildcats Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26

There’s never been any evidence of it actually been presented except people who benefit from that narrative to bolster their legacy… and even those people say that if KSU dropped football the school would’ve been dropped by the Big 8. So it would’ve been an insane thing to do.

The obvious thing was to start investing in the program again, which they did and K-State hired Snyder.

Do people seriously think KU was going to drop their football program in the 2010’s??

1

u/ChicagoDash Notre Dame • South Carolina Jan 20 '26

Indiana also had Mark Cuban to instantly get their NIL on par with the big boys.

1

u/OriginalMassless Hateful 8 • Kansas State Wildcats Jan 21 '26

Dude, there was 30 miles of shit between us and Indiana when Snyder took the job.

3

u/shmaltz_herring Kansas State • Fort Hays State Jan 20 '26

I support this. There are 2 greatest turnarounds as Bill Snyder faced a really difficult and different hill to climb. Also they were way worse than Indiana up to that point.