{"id":832233,"date":"2026-05-30T11:32:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T11:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/832233\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T11:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T11:32:17","slug":"curt-cignetti-sets-firm-deadline-on-when-college-football-changes-need-to-be-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/832233\/","title":{"rendered":"Curt Cignetti sets firm deadline on when college football changes need to be made"},"content":{"rendered":"

A little more than four months removed from leading Indiana<\/a><\/strong> its first-ever national championship in football, Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti<\/a><\/strong> delivered a serious wake-up call about the future of the sport. Or, rather, lack thereof.<\/p>\n

Prior to speaking at an annual booster event in Borden, Ind., Cignetti suggested the current state of college football \u2014 and college athletics at-large \u2014 has a shelf life of just 1-2 years before the entire system collapses in on itself. He believes that due to the unsustainability of its unregulated financial marketplace.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe market is pretty expensive \u2014 it\u2019s scary. It\u2019s scary,\u201d Cignetti said Wednesday, via The Hoosier\u2018s Colin McMahon<\/strong><\/a>. \u201c\u2026 I think players should get paid. But something\u2019s going to have to be done in the next 12 to 24 months, or universities might not be able to handle this. College football won\u2019t exist the way we\u2019re going right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cUniversities won\u2019t be able to survive. College football won\u2019t exist the way we\u2019re going right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Hoosiers at Huber\u2019s event last night, Curt Cignetti commented on the current state of the NIL market. He didn\u2019t give an explicit opinion, but made clear that change is\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/SUcCYevo3O<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Colin McMahon (@ColinMcMahon31) May 28, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cignetti\u2019s dire warning came on the same day that Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) publicly introduced their bipartisan \u201cProtect College Sports Act,\u201d which provides limited antitrust protection for the NCAA to enforce eligibility and transfer restrictions, codifies many of the rules around NIL and revenue-sharing spelled out in last Summer\u2019s House v. NCAA settlement, and allowed for pooled media rights between the FBS conferences as long as 75% of the schools agree to it. The bill also included language that barred coaches from leaving their teams for another job before the end of the season \u2014 dubbed \u201cthe Lane Kiffin rule\u201d \u2014 and banned the creation of a potential \u201csuper league\u201d or merger between the Big Ten and SEC as the only two conferences with revenue exceeding $1 billion in fiscal year 2025.<\/p>\n

And while the \u201cProtect College Sports Act\u201d has faced some serious pushback from parties on both sides of the ideological spectrum \u2014 from both the athletes-first coalition and the powerful Big Ten and SEC \u2014 it remains the best and most likely-to-pass legislation on college athletics to come before Capitol Hill this year. Several partisan predecessors have failed to even go to a vote.<\/p>\n

The Cantwell-Cruz bill is reportedly appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, where it will face scrutiny prior to being put to a vote on the Senate floor. And if it passes there, which is no small task given it would require a filibuster-proof 60 votes, it must then make its way through Congress without any significant changes before going to the desk of President Donald Trump for his signature in order to make it law. <\/p>\n

Suffice it to say, the road ahead for the passage of the \u201cProtect College Sports Act\u201d bill is hardly without potential potholes. And in an election year, passing such landmark legislation is hardly a certainty even under the best of conditions. All of which makes Cignetti\u2019s troubling warning regarding a potential 1-2 year window before the entire college athletics system collapses all the more acute.<\/p>\n