Indiana coach Curt Cignetti commented on Notre Dame following the cancellation of a planned home-and-home series, suggesting the Fighting Irish should visit Bloomington twice if the teams are to meet again because of Notre Dame's independent status.
NEW: Curt Cignetti on the Indiana-Notre Dame series being canceled:
— On3 (@On3) August 15, 2026
"I’d like to play Notre Dame. They ought to come to our place twice, and we’ll go there once, since they’re not in a conference."
(via @BigTenNetwork) https://t.co/UnH3XpjoYw pic.twitter.com/jJordNEHa6
Curt Cignetti doesn't hold back on his feelings about Notre Dame
The remarks, made during a Big Ten Network appearance, came after the schools scrapped a 2030-31 series that had been scheduled for years. Indiana was set to open the 2030 season at Notre Dame, with a return game in Bloomington the following year. Indiana initiated the cancellation, which ended up clearing the way for Notre Dame to renew its rivalry with USC. So the Fighting Irish, despite comments once again on the topic of its independent status, managed to come out unscathed.
"I'd like to play Notre Dame," Cignetti said. "They ought to come to our place twice, and we'll go there once, since they're not in a conference."
The comments on Notre Dame's independence is nothing new, but is it a cop-out for Cignetti and Indiana?
Indiana has drawn criticism for soft non-conference schedules and for backing out of multiple series in recent years. As of right now, they don't even have a Power Four non-conference opponent remaining on the future slate. But they do have games lined up against programs such as North Texas, Howard and Kennesaw State, as well as other various FCS and Group of Six teams.
Cignetti has defended the approach by saying Indiana adopted an "SEC philosophy." That is already an outdated mindset as the SEC requires its teams to face at least one P4 opponent in the non-conference each season and is now moving to nine conference games.
Miami and Mario Cristobal have taken a different approach to scheduling
The Hurricanes have consistently scheduled high-profile non-conference opponents. Last season was a prime example as Miami opened with a victory over Notre Dame. That result later paid off for Miami as it was the deciding factor for the Canes making it into the College Football Playoff. This year the Hurricanes will travel to South Bend for a rematch on Nov. 7 and there hasn't been any rumblings of a cancellation up to this point.
Beyond Notre Dame, Miami's future schedules feature a game against Utah in Las Vegas in 2027, a home-and-home series with Auburn beginning in 2029, and more meetings with Notre Dame.
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