List of Indiana Hoosiers head football coaches
The
The Hoosiers have played over 1,100 games over 122 seasons. Six different
McMillin spent the most seasons (14) as the Indiana head coach, but Bill Mallory has led the Hoosiers for the most games (149). Mallory took the program to six different bowl games, far more than any other coach in school history. The highest winning percentage by any coach is by Madison G. Gonterman, who led the Hoosiers to a 12-3-1 record (.781) over two seasons in 1896–97. The lowest winning percentage for any coach in the modern era is by Bob Hicks, who went 1-8 (.111) in 1957, his only season at the helm.
In 2007, head coach Terry Hoeppner died of brain cancer.[2] Offensive coordinator Bill Lynch took over as head coach and led the 2007 Hoosiers to a 7–6 season, which included a last-second win over rival Purdue in the Bucket Game and a trip to the Insight Bowl. The bowl berth was the first for the Hoosiers in 14 years.[3]
Kevin Wilson would take over the Hoosiers football program in December 2011. With an overall record of 26–47, Wilson would bring the Hoosiers to their first bowl game since 2007, at the 2015 Pinstripe Bowl. This would be Wilson's only bowl game, as Wilson resigned on December 1, 2016, amidst "philosophical differences" with Athletic Director Fred Glass and allegations of player mistreatment.[4][5]
Tom Allen succeeded Wilson. Indiana was the first head coaching job for Allen, who was promoted from Defensive Coordinator to Head Coach in December 2016.[6] Allen's first game as head coach of the Hoosiers was on December 28, 2016, in the Foster Farms Bowl. Allen coached the Hoosiers in three bowl games total, including during the 2020 season when Indiana finished 12th in the AP poll. Allen was fired after the 2023 season, which concluded three straight losing seasons with a combined 3-24 Big Ten Conference record.
Curt Cignetti was named the 30th head coach at Indiana in November 2023.[7] Cignetti left his position at James Madison University, where he had a 52-9 record. Including stops at Elon University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Cignetti had a combined 119-35 record as a head coach prior to joining Indiana.
Coaches
| Head coach | Years | Seasons | Record | Pct. | Conf. record | Pct. | Conf. titles | Bowl games | vs. Purdue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur B. Woodford | 1887–1888 | 2 | 0–1–1 | .250 | |||||
| Evans Woollen | 1889 | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | |||||
| Billy Herod | 1891 | 1 | 1–5 | .167 | 0–1 | ||||
| None | 1892–1893 | 2 | 3–6–1 | .350 | 0–2 | ||||
| Gustave Ferbert & Joseph R. Hudelson | 1894 | 1 | 0–4–1 | .100 | 0–1 | ||||
| Winchester Osgood & Robert Wrenn | 1895 | 1 | 4–3–1 | .563 | |||||
| Madison G. Gonterman | 1896–1897 | 2 | 11–4–1 | .719 | 0–1 | ||||
| James H. Horne | 1898–1904 | 7 | 33–21–5 | .602 | 3–13–1 | .206 | 0 | 0 | 3–3 |
| James M. Sheldon | 1905–1913 | 9 | 35–26–3 | .570 | 7–25–2 | .235 | 0 | 0 | 3–3–1 |
| Clarence Childs | 1914–1915 | 2 | 6–7–1 | .464 | 2–7 | .222 | 0 | 0 | 0–2 |
| Ewald O. Stiehm | 1916–1921 | 5 | 20–18–1 | .526 | 5–10–1 | .344 | 0 | 0 | 3–0–1 |
| James P. Herron | 1922 | 1 | 1–4–2 | .286 | 0–2–1 | .167 | 0 | 0 | 0–0–1 |
| Bill Ingram | 1923–1925 | 3 | 10–12–1 | .457 | 3–8–1 | .292 | 0 | 0 | 1–1–1 |
| Harlan Page | 1926–1930 | 5 | 14–23–3 | .388 | 5–16–2 | .261 | 0 | 0 | 1–4 |
| Earl C. Hayes | 1931–1933 | 3 | 8–14–4 | .385 | 2–11–4 | .235 | 0 | 0 | 0–3 |
| Bo McMillin | 1934–1947 | 14 | 63–48–11 | .561 | 34–34–6 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 9–4–1 |
Clyde Smith
|
1948–1951 | 4 | 8–27–1 | .236 | 4–19 | .174 | 0 | 0 | 0–4 |
Bernie Crimmins
|
1952–1956 | 5 | 13–32 | .289 | 6–24 | .200 | 0 | 0 | 0–5 |
| Bob Hicks | 1957 | 1 | 1–8 | .111 | 0–6 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0–1 |
| Phil Dickens | 1958–1964 | 7 | 20–41–2 | .333 | 8–27–2 | .243 | 0 | 0 | 1–5–1 |
| John Pont | 1965–1972 | 8 | 31–51–1 | .380 | 21–36–1 | .371 | 1 | 1 | 2–7 |
| Lee Corso | 1973–1982 | 10 | 41–68–2 | .378 | 28–52–2 | .354 | 0 | 1 | 4–6 |
| Sam Wyche | 1983 | 1 | 3–8 | .273 | 2–7 | .222 | 0 | 0 | 0–1 |
| Bill Mallory | 1984–1996 | 13 | 69–77–3 | .473 | 39–65–1 | .376 | 0 | 6 | 7–6 |
| Cam Cameron | 1997–2001 | 5 | 18–37 | .327 | 12–28 | .300 | 0 | 0 | 1–4 |
| Gerry DiNardo | 2002–2004 | 3 | 8–27 | .229 | 3–21 | .125 | 0 | 0 | 0–3 |
| Terry Hoeppner | 2005–2006 | 2 | 9–14 | .391 | 4–12 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 0–2 |
| Bill Lynch | 2007–2010 | 4 | 19–30 | .388 | 6–26 | .188 | 0 | 1 | 2–2 |
| Kevin Wilson | 2011–2016 | 5 | 18–38 | .321 | 6–30 | .167 | 0 | 1 | 3–1 |
| Tom Allen | 2016–2023 | 7 | 33–49 | .402 | 18–43 | .295 | 0 | 3 | 1–5 |
| Curt Cignetti | 2024–present | 1 | 0–0 | – | 0 | – | 0–0 | 0 | 0-0 |
| Totals | 1887–present | 134 | 501–703–45 | .419 | 218–522–24 | .301 | 2 | 13 | 41–73–6 |
References
- ^ "Indiana Football 2012 Record Book" (PDF). Grfx.cstv.com. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
- ^ "Hoeppner's death is a loss for all of football". Sports.espn.go.com. 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
- ^ "2007 Insight Bowl Preview, College Football Bowl Games". Collegefootballpoll.com. 1991-12-31. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
- ^ Gregg Doyel and Zach Osterman (December 1, 2016). "Sources:IU to dismiss football coach Wilson". www.indystar.com. Indianapolis Star. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ "Chris Widlic (@Chris_Widlic) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- ^ Doyel, Gregg; Osterman, Zach (December 1, 2016). "IU, Kevin Wilson part ways; Tom Allen named new head coach". indystar.com. Indianapolis Star. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ IU Athletics (November 30, 2023). "Cignetti Named 30th Head Football Coach at Indiana University". www.iuathletics.com. Indiana University. Retrieved November 30, 2023.