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Thursday, February 19, 2026
PHOTOS: 7 compete for title of Miss Indiana University
Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
Cignetti speaks on ‘team of destiny' Cignetti spoke to students for nearly an hour Feb. 17
By Dalton James jamesdm@iu.edu | @DaltonMJames
Curt Cignetti has made a habit of leading Indiana football fans through chants, whether it be his patented “Go IU!” or the famous “Hoo, Hoo, Hoo, Hoosiers.” The Indiana football head coach, who completed his second season at the helm in glorious fashion just under a month ago, led a crowd of a few hundred Indiana students through such chants during the Indiana Memorial Union Board’s “A Conversation with Coach Cignetti” on the evening of Feb. 17 night inside the IU Auditorium in Bloomington. Cignetti spoke for nearly an hour about his tenure so far, next season and more. Here are six takeaways from Tuesday’s event: Hoosier faithful, students were “incredible” Before Cignetti arrived at Indiana, sellouts were a rarity — just eight in the 21st century — and only occurred against high-profile opponents like Michigan or Ohio State. However, the Hoosier faithful sold out Memorial Stadium in Bloomington eight times across 15 total home games in the last two seasons. Cignetti said the student turnout and oncampus support has been “incredible.” “I mean, the student section is sold out every game, and the energy that you bring to the stadium and the momentum that you create, our players feed off that,” he said. Throughout the Hoosiers’ postseason run — including the Big Ten Championship game against Ohio State in Indianapolis — the fans pro-
vided a significant edge. “I just can’t say enough about how great that fan support was and what that meant to our football team, and how it elevated our play,” Cignetti said. “I don’t think there’s any question about it.” Indiana sent nationwide message vs. Illinois Ahead of the Hoosiers’ 2025 campaign, many media pundits deemed Illinois the “year’s Indiana.” The Fighting Illini returned much of their core from their 10-3 season in 2024, and national media projected Illinois to make its first College Football Playoff berth. Conveniently for the Hoosiers, their conference opener Sept. 20 was slated against the Fighting Illini. The Cream and Crimson were “lurking in the weeds” throughout the offseason, Cignetti said, with their eyes on the matchup. Indiana pummeled Illinois 63-10, improving to 4-0 and showing the rest of the college football world what it was capable of against a high-level opponent. “I think we sent a message to the country that night with a lot more games to be played,” he said. When Cignetti viewed Indiana as “team of destiny” Indiana was in a precarious position against Penn State on Nov. 8, with its unblemished record on the line. Although the Hoosiers allowed the Nittany Lions to score 17 unanswered points in front of 105,231 fans inside Beaver Stadium, redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza orchestrated one of the greatest drives in Indiana history to
improve to 10-0. Mendoza connected with four pass-catchers throughout the possession, ultimately firing a pass to redshirt junior receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who made a miraculous touchdown catch. Cignetti said Cooper’s score will be remembered as an “iconic” play not only for Indiana, but also in the college football history books. “It was just the most incredible comeback,” Cignetti said. “I’ve never been a part of anything like that before. After we got that done, in my mind, I was thinking to myself — you win games, and you develop confidence, people start believing in you — but this game, this team might be a team of destiny.” Leadup to Rose Bowl was biggest coaching job History wasn’t on Indiana’s side ahead of its CFP quarterfinal matchup against the No. 9 University of Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. The Hoosiers sought to become the first team with a first-round bye to advance to the quarterfinals in the twoyear history of the 12-team CFP format. Throughout Indiana’s 19day gap between Alabama’s first-round game and the Rose Bowl, Cignetti said he faced his “biggest coaching job all year long.” As a result, he said he “wasn’t a very nice person to anybody 24/7.” “I just felt like that’s what it was going to take to snap this team back into the right mindset and get ready for this game,” he said. A 38-3 beatdown of the Crimson Tide followed in “The Granddaddy of Them All.” Cignetti 100% tied to
JIMMY RUSH | IDS
Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti talks during "A Conversation with Coach Cignetti" on Feb. 17, 2026, at the IU Auditorium in Bloomington. Cignetti spoke to students for nearly an hour.
Pamela Whitten and Scott Dolson Although Cignetti has been at the helm of the Hoosiers for just two seasons, he’s signed three contracts — his latest coming in midOctober 2025. With blue-blood programs seeking to poach Cignetti away from Bloomington, IU officials — specifically President Pamela Whitten and athletic director Scott Dolson — sought to be proactive and lock in their head coach. The duo has upped the university’s commitment to success in football, whether it be in-stadium amenities or financial commitments to retain key assistant coaches. Should either Whitten or Dolson leave Indiana,
Cignetti’s contract buyout is cut in half. “It takes a commitment from the top to make this happen,” Cignetti said. “I am tied to those two, Pam Whitten and Scott Dolson, all the way 100%.” Cignetti ready to start building foundation Indiana set all sorts of records in 2025. Whether it was being the first college football team to go 16-0 since Yale University in 1894 or winning the program’s first outright Big Ten title since 1945, Cignetti’s second season yielded what many thought were impossible results. But the Hoosiers’ storybook season is in the past. Cignetti and his staff
brought in 17 players via the transfer portal, including presumed starting quarterback Josh Hoover and premier wide receiver Nick Marsh. The Cream and Crimson have begun their offseason training program in the weight room with new strength and conditioning coach Tyson Brown, who Cignetti hired Jan. 23 after Derek Owings left for the University of Tennessee. Indiana’s attention is on improving every day ahead of the 2026 season, which is slated to begin against the University of North Texas on Sept. 5. "Now,” Cignetti said, “we got to start it all over again and dig that hole for the house and then the foundation.”
What medical offices in Bloomington accept Medicaid? By Emerson Elledge eelledge@iu.edu
After President Donald Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act” was signed into law last July, Medicaid eligibility and funding became further complicated for the millions of Americans who qualify for benefits after the program lost almost $1 trillion in funding until 2034. The act went into effect Jan. 1. One of the biggest provisions in the act related to Medicaid was the removal of statewide incentives for Medicaid expansion, making fewer people eligible for the program. Medicaid is a federal program that partners with states to provide some health care cost coverage for those who qualify based on factors like income level and age. Indiana offers four main different variations of Med-
icaid, based on patient qualifications, in addition to traditional Medicaid. Children up to 19 years old and pregnant people are eligible for the Hoosier Healthwise plan. The Healthy Indiana Plan is for low-income adults from 19 to 64 years old. Indiana PathWays for Aging is for members older than 60. Hoosier Care Connect is for individuals 59 and younger who are blind, disabled or who have other complex medical needs who may not qualify for Medicare. Hoosiers can also opt for traditional Medicaid. Within each program, customers have the option to select different plans which vary based on cost and overall coverage. Health care offices are rolling back how many Medicaid patients they accept because the bill reduces reimbursements to facilities
for care given to Medicaid patients. Here are a few health care facilities in Bloomington that still accept Medicaid: Hospitals IU Health Bloomington Hospital accepts Indiana Medicaid for emergency and inpatient services. Outpatient care like in-home geriatric care or take-home electroencephalograms vary by Medicaid plan. The hospital is open 24 hours, seven days a week. Primary Care and Medical Clinics HealthNet Bloomington Health Center is a community health center. Its services include family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, OB/GYN services and administering vaccines. The clinic also offers social work and behavioral health services, in addi-
tion to having a space for lab work. It accepts Medicare, Medicaid and Hoosier Healthwise plans, as well as offering a sliding fee scale discount program based on income level. The clinic is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Monday to Wednesday. The clinic is open at 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. New patients must call the office at 317957-2400 to schedule an appointment. IU Health has three primary care facilities in Bloomington. The Bloomington South location is open every day but Sunday. The facility is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It’s open until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. IU Health’s Bloomington East facility is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. The third IU Health pri-
JACK JERNIGAN | IDS
The IU Health building is seen Feb. 13, 2026, in Bloomington. The building has been in operation since 2021.
mary care facility is on the west side of Bloomington and is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. All locations accept Medicaid. Urgent Care WellNow Urgent Care is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. It accepts Medicaid, but has some variation based on plan coverage. This list does not include
every facility in Bloomington that accepts Medicaid, but rather, is a starting point to community members in need. For further information on more specialized care, search online with the Indiana Health Coverage Programs Provider Locator. Call any office prior to visiting to ensure specific plans are accepted and that the office is accepting new Medicaid clients.
DOJ investigating IU scholarship programs By Mia Hilkowitz mhilkowi@iu.edu
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is investigating Indiana University’s scholarship programs in a probe into compliance with federal law. IU administration directed faculty and staff involved in scholarship processes across the university to preserve all documents, notes, communications and recordings that could be used in the investigation. According to the DOJ’s Dec. 12 letter to IU President Pamela Whitten, obtained by the Indiana Daily Student, the review is investigating if IU’s scholarship programs are compliant with federal law and wheth-
er the university is “discriminating against program participants based on any statutorily prohibited basis.” As part of the review, the DOJ requested a demographic breakdown of all IU students. It also ordered IU to provide numbers on how many scholarships and total funds the university awarded — broken down by sex, race, ethnicity or national origin — and the evaluation and selection criteria used to determine scholarship recipients. The DOJ directed IU to provide any policies, agreements, processes, audits, surveys and all communications surrounding its scholarships where “eligibility or selection criteria considered race, ethnicity,
national origin, or sex.” It requested materials and dates for “nondiscrimination training,” as well as any complaints, grievances or appeals filed by students, staff or third parties. These materials include: • Emails and voicemails • Hard copy documents and all attachments • All text and instant messages • Hand-written notes • Printed or electronic databases • “Any other hard-copy or electronic document, whether in draft or final form, and whether or not the document appears to be a duplicate of any other document.” The university was required to respond to the
DOJ’s request within 45 days of when it received the letter, or Jan. 26. The IDS has not obtained any response IU sent to the DOJ, and an IU spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The IU Office of the Vice President and General Counsel sent letters to faculty and staff who have material that could be used in the investigation. “Effective immediately, you must preserve and refrain from deleting, altering, or destroying any records— whether paper or electronic—related to scholarship administration,” the undated letter read. The letter said the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel will
work with the University Information Policy Office to preserve recipients' emails and electronic documents, and that all preserved information won’t be accessed “until the need to provide specific records arises.” The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication. Under the Trump administration, the DOJ and U.S. Department of Education have launched investigations into and sent letters to many other higher education institutions for a swath of issues, from racebased admissions to handling of antisemitism and the participation of transgender athletes in collegiate sports.
In March last year, the Department of Education sent a letter to IU Bloomington, along with 59 other schools, stating it was investigating antisemitic harassment and discrimination and threatening federal funding. There is no resolution related to this investigation at IU listed on the department’s Office of Civil Rights website. On Feb. 13, the Trump administration sued Harvard University for allegedly not disclosing data in its own DOJ investigation into race-based admissions. The DOJ also opened an investigation in July 2025 into George Mason University for alleged “discriminatory practices” regarding student scholarships.