The Indiana Hoosiers took one last stroll from Assembly Hall to Memorial Stadium on Saturday, waving to the crowd, signing autographs and trading fist bumps with the fans who lined the way.
Then the Hoosiers walked onto their home field for the first time as national champions.
This was a scene even the most loyal Indiana fans couldn't have fathomed when Curt Cignetti was hired to coach major college football's losingest program in 2023. A little more than two years later, here they were, folding chairs on the field, trophies lined up across the dais and a series of presentations to cap the celebration.
It was the perfect ending to a perfect season.
Before the formal program, fans were treated to a full slate of pre-event entertainment. The Marching Hundred, IU Cheerleaders, Red Steppers, and DJ Iman Tucker kept the crowd energized, while a videoboard pre-show highlighted memorable moments from Indiana’s historic 2025 season.
Inside the gates, fans received a commemorative College Football Playoff National Champions rally towel — the final planned towel giveaway of the championship season.
But the fans, like this team, had to tough it out Saturday.
The temperature barely hovered above 10 degrees, wind chills were below zero and the forecast called for up to a foot of snow for the celebration of major college football's first 16-0 season since the 1890s.
The official celebration featured multiple trophy presentations, with the CFP National Championship trophy taking center stage. The American Football Coaches Association and the National Football Foundation also presented the MacArthur Bowl, recognizing Indiana as the nation’s top team.
“You're only the 25th team in 67 years to ever claim a MacArthur Bowl, and your name will be etched on this trophy, immortalized forever alongside the greatest teams in history,” said Jason Hanold of the National Football Foundation.
Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson reflected on the moment the program’s historic run began, sharing a story that drew laughter and applause from the crowd.
“I called Curt Cignetti on the phone and said, ‘You’re going to be the next head football coach at Indiana University, and we’re going to shock the world,’” Dolson said. “And there was a pause, and he said, ‘You’re blankety blank right, we are going to, Scott. Let’s go.”
It didn't take long for Cignetti to deliver on his promise to win. The Hoosiers posted a school-best 11-2 in mark in 2024. Yet many of these Hoosiers fans who had watched so many other promising starts unravel were skeptical the Hoosiers could replicate that success in 2025.
They didn't. Indiana surpassed those numbers with a season for the record books.
The Hoosiers won games by huge margins, with late-game heroics and at sites that seemed impossibly challenging such as Oregon and Penn State. They beat traditional powers Ohio State and Alabama along with Oregon again as their storybook journey headed to Miami for the title game. And there, the school's first Heisman Trophy winner finished off the 27-21 victory on Miami's home field with one powerful, spinning touchdown run that encapsulated Indiana's fight to the top.
During the program, Indiana University President Pamela Whitten was met with boos when she was introduced. Whitten has faced criticism throughout her tenure at IU, including votes of no confidence.
Whitten said in her speech to the team, “You guys are amazing, you are smart, and you're strong, and you're fast, and you're tough, but most importantly, you showed the country that to win a national championship, you have to be a team, and that's what you all were, a team."
Down on Whitten, thrilled with football, IU has conflicted fans
Indiana native John Mellencamp joined in the celebration at Memorial Stadium. He sang his hit “Hurts So Good” and several players grabbed a mic and sang along.
Lifelong Indiana fan John Mellencamp joined in on the celebration today 😆 pic.twitter.com/l9mFJ9HifW
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) January 24, 2026
Another highlight came with the presentation of Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy by the Heisman Trust, drawing one of the loudest reactions of the afternoon.
Mendoza started making the television rounds this week, booking appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Good Morning America” before announcing Friday that he would enter this year's draft.
First, though, he wanted to make one more stop in Bloomington.
“The Heisman Trophy is the ultimate team award" Mendoza told the crowd. “I want to thank God, thank the Heisman Trophy Foundation and thank IU.”
Mendoza thanked fans for their support throughout the season and during the playoff run.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Hoosier Nation,” Mendoza said. “Playing in front of you guys has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.”
Head coach Curt Cignetti accepted the American Football Coaches Association Trophy in recognition of the team’s perfect season. It’s been awarded to the number one team in the US LBM Coaches Poll since 1986.
“I guess we need a new Trophy case,” Cignetti said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
