ESPN Star Paul Finebaum Issues Public Apology To Curt Cignetti

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

With the national championship game between Indiana and Miami officially in the books, ESPN's Paul Finebaum has addressed his worst take from the 2025 college football season.

Back in October, the Hoosiers rewarded Curt Cignetti with an eight-year, $93 million contract. They made this move amid all the rumors that he would be the No. 1 target during Penn State's coaching search. While plenty of people understood Indiana's decision to pay Cignetti top dollar, Finebaum thought it was an overreaction from the athletic department.

"I think everyone on this panel agrees that he’s done a phenomenal job. But this is how programs get in trouble. They just gave him an extension and a contract raise at the end of last season. We’re barely at the midpoint. Let it play out before you completely send the Brinks Truck out," Finebaum argued, via Awful Announcing. "I’m still not convinced that Curt Cignetti is one of the top coaches in America. He has coached brilliantly this year, but can’t you let it play out a little bit? He has one big win this year, maybe one and a half, including the win a couple of weeks ago over Illinois."

Two months later, Cignetti capped off a perfect 16-0 season at Indiana. Suffice to say, he was worth the money.

Indiana finally receives its flowers.

After months of dealing with criticism for his take on the Hoosiers, Finebaum has finally said that he was wrong for dismissing Cignetti's impact in Bloomington. He issued an apology on "The Paul Finebaum Show" this Wednesday.

"There can be debate on whether Indiana had the best season in college football history, but there can be no debate, it is the greatest story in the history of the game," Finebaum said. "What made it even more amazing is how people understood what Curt Cignetti was doing in Bloomington. Let me assure you, nobody was more incorrect in understanding that process than me. Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong, and it was an epic failure on my part."

Finebaum didn't just applaud Cignetti and the Hoosiers on their championship run, he put his affinity for the SEC to the side.

"There was no question Indiana was the best team, and yes, the Big Ten is the best conference in the country. We congratulate Coach Cignetti, Indiana and the Big Ten for an extraordinary run."

We got to give Finebaum credit for admitting his take aged terribly. That probably wasn't easy for him to do.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Jan 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos