The Indiana University football season is less than two weeks away, and for the first time in a while, fans are itching for kickoff.
The Hoosiers were 11-2 last season and earned a spot in the College Football Playoffs for the first time.
IU football beat writer Zach Osterman of the Indy Star says he can see it happening again.
“I don't know that I would endorse Curt Cignetti’s declaration that Indiana is the emerging superpower of college football, but Indiana has put money into football in very meaningful ways,” he said. “The idea that Indiana can be better at football than its history is something that had started to be proven true even before Curt Cignetti got to Indiana.”
The Hoosiers return four all-Big Ten players from last season. IU also landed top talent in the transfer portal, including Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Maryland running back Roman Hemby and three interior offensive linemen.
Before the first game, Aug. 30 against Old Dominion, IU has sold a record $13 million in tickets. sales
The players who generate that revenue can now share in it. Starting this year, schools can directly compensate athletes up to $20.5 million annually.
“The way Indiana has addressed it is through kind of true revenue share, like if it's called revenue share, what percentage of revenue does football generate? What percentage of revenue do the men's and women's basketball teams generate? And then we work our way down from there,” said Jeremy Gray, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications.
