Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti doesn’t need any extra motivation to prove the doubters and haters wrong, but he got a fresh dose of it thanks to this year’s ESPYs.

No athlete really dreams of growing up to win an ESPY award. The annual made-for-TV event has become much more about showcasing the special honorees and feel good stories honoring the likes of Jim Valvano, Arthur Ashe, and Pat Tillman rather than things like Best Play, Best Team, or Best Athlete.

But leave it to the brash and confrontational Cignetti to try to use an ESPY award to hype up his program’s “us against the world” mentality.

The New York Knicks won the Best Team award at this year’s ESPYs after delivering their fanbase their first NBA title in over 50 years. While the Knicks made for a great story, Indiana and Cignetti won their first national championship in program history completing what may be the most astonishing rags to riches story in all of sports.

In a Friday appearance with Pat McAfee, Cignetti tried to use the ESPYs snub as fuel for the Hoosiers fire, even wanting to use it as more ammunition that ESPN doesn’t respect his program like they should. However, before he could go too far down the disrespect rabbit hole, he was reminded by McAfee that the Knicks won the award thanks to a fan vote and not the wishes of the ESPN execs that struck their SEC rights deal.

“16-0 hadn’t happened in 136 years..

I don’t know how that team doesn’t win a certain award” 😂😂 ~ @CCignettiIU #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/HNSmgMXq1T

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 17, 2026

“You know that natty 16-0 hadn’t happened in 136 years. Now how that team doesn’t win a certain award as the team of the year, you know, but some networks are consistent in getting it wrong,” Cignetti said.

After being talked off the ledge by Pat McAfee, Cignetti relented in the massive Knicks fanbase tilting the tide of the online vote. There’s surely also a recency bias that helped them rise above Indiana and the gold medal USA hockey teams as well.

You’ve really got to hand it to Curt Cignetti for this one. Trying to use an ESPY award as bulletin board material is the kind of unhinged behavior that made “Google me” the stuff of legend. It’s a true sign that Cignetti isn’t resting on his laurels and declaring mission accomplished for his coaching career or his time in Bloomington. Good luck to anyone standing in the way of Indiana trying to repeat as national champions this year.