Curt Cignetti fixed Indiana football. Now he's trying to fix Indiana fans - USA Today

It's not easy to turn a basketball school into a football school.

Prior to the 2025 season, Indiana had the most losses in Division I football history, while its men's basketball program (although withering of late) boasts five national titles. Not even last season's College Football Playoff national championship can flip the switch overnight.

Fan attendance has been a point of contention across the country as high temperatures and uncompetitive buy games have made sitting through four quarters more of a chore than ever.

Indiana's home slate of North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky wasn't exactly a murderer's row, and high temperatures and blowout games have led many fans to leave early — or at least retreat back to the tailgate lots. And believe it or not, prior to Indiana's rise as a football power, the Bloomington tailgates were the show. As the old saying went, "Indiana never lost a tailgate."

But Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti has done his part. Now he wants fans to do theirs. He spoke about the attendance ahead of Friday's home Big Ten opener against 2-0 Northwestern during his weekly coaches radio show Thursday.

"First Big Ten game at home," Cignetti said. "We need everybody in the stadium early. Early. Need everybody in the stadium early. And we need them to be loud and gotta give them something to be loud about. And we need somebody sitting in every seat in that stadium from the first play to the last play."

Longtime IU voice Don Fischer hosts the coaches radio show and has seen plenty of sparse football crowds over his 50-plus years.

"Absolutely. They're talking about that a lot this week no question about it," Fischer said. "And our fanbase, I get it, I get it. There's a lot of people that kinda go back to how it used to be and thinking about it that way... You gotta change that."

"Well, it was hot, you know. It was hot, and I was hot on the sideline," Cignetti said. "And you know the stadium's made of limestone, so when you get those hot games, it's even hotter. And, you know, but (pause), you know, I mean, what are we 20-2, 29-2? When we came, I saw the pictures, 10,000 people in the stands. You know, don't bitch about a 38-0 win."

For the record, Indiana is actually 30-2 under Cignetti.

Indiana's official website lists Memorial Stadium's capacity at 53,524 — modest compared to its Big Ten brethren, some of whom double that number. Don't call the fire marshal, but the school's announced attendance for each of its first three games eclipsed that capacity number (54,521 average). But anyone can see after halftime, that number drops precipitously.

It's a Friday night kickoff, with temperatures expected into the mid-to-lower 60s, so temperature shouldn't be an issue.