Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti doesn\u2019t need any extra motivation to prove the doubters and haters wrong, but he got a fresh dose of it thanks to this year\u2019s ESPYs.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But leave it to the brash and confrontational Cignetti to try to use an ESPY award to hype up his program\u2019s \u201cus against the world\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n
The New York Knicks won the Best Team award<\/a> at this year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t 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<\/a> and not the wishes of the ESPN execs that struck their SEC rights deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c16-0 hadn\u2019t happened in 136 years..<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know how that team doesn\u2019t win a certain award\u201d \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02 ~ @CCignettiIU<\/a> #PMSLive<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HNSmgMXq1T<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou know that natty 16-0 hadn\u2019t happened in 136 years. Now how that team doesn\u2019t win a certain award as the team of the year, you know, but some networks are consistent in getting it wrong,\u201d Cignetti said.<\/p>\n After being talked off the ledge by Pat McAfee, Cignetti relented in the massive Knicks fanbase tilting the tide of the online vote. There\u2019s surely also a recency bias that helped them rise above Indiana and the gold medal USA hockey teams as well.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve 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 \u201cGoogle me<\/a>\u201d the stuff of legend. It\u2019s a true sign that Cignetti isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n \t