The Indiana Hoosiers, led by head coach Curt Cignetti, pulled off the impossible last season and won the national championship, an honor usually reserved for the sport’s historically great programs. Many consider Cignetti’s season the greatest coaching performance in college football history, but he isn’t satisfied and is looking to get back to the top of the mountain.
On Monday, the Hoosiers team attended the White House to celebrate the tremendous accomplishment, and the head coach even made a deal with United States President Donald Trump, surrounding the national championship trophy: If Trump contributes to Indiana’s NIL fund, he gets to keep the trophy.
Coach Cignetti to President Trump: “I’ll let you keep the trophy for an NIL contribution.” pic.twitter.com/AzJIQlwERX
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 11, 2026
People reacted to the agreement on social media.
“This is going to piss a lot of people off, but Cignetti is a Yinzer boomer/Gen X, who just got to meet the president. He’s most likely somewhat conservative and is just enjoying meeting the president, which the title still carries weight,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“Wonder how long he worked on that liner,” someone else added.
“Cignetti definitely practiced that one liner for days,” another fan added.
The President almost certainly won’t take coach Cignetti up on the offer, but then again, it’s alwasy difficult to predict what Trump will do next.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.