Year 1
Dusty May and Curt Cignetti finished between 9th and 16th in their sport in Year 1. Cignetti’s Indiana football team was ranked No. 10 and lost in the first round (pre-quarterfinals) of the 12-team College Football Playoff. The Michigan team of the year May 1 reached the Sweet 16 and lost to Auburn.
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Year 2
Curt Cignetti and Dusty May went from good to great in Year 2, winning the national championship in their respective programs.
total review
2023 Indiana football, in the final season before Cignetti arrived, went 3-9, a .250 winning percentage.
2024 Michigan basketball, in the final season before May’s arrival, went 8-24, a .250 winning percentage.
Key transfers
Indiana under Cignetti and Michigan under May both got quality transfers who were recognized as very good players, but not necessarily superstars. Yaxel Lendeborg was very good at UAB, but Dusty May allowed him to reach a whole new level of production at Michigan. Similarly, Fernando Mendoza was seen as a very good quarterback at Cal, but Cignetti transformed him into a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion, something the vast majority of experts did not expect heading into the 2025 college football season.
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Michigan basketball and Indiana football
Both Michigan basketball and Indiana football spent competitively in the transfer portal, but they weren’t the biggest spenders, not even close. Other programs spent more, but UM and IU simply spent money wisely and created great rosters with depth and versatility.
Indiana Adversity
Indiana was without two of its best defensive linemen in the College Football Playoff due to injury, and still won it all.
Michigan’s uncertainty
Yaxel Lendeborg’s injuries left him less than fully effective in the national title game against UConn. However, Michigan was still able to pull out a victory despite scoring fewer than 70 points. Both Indiana football and Michigan basketball had to deal with notable difficulties on their way to the championship.
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Indiana football before the national championship
Indiana routed Alabama by 35 in the Rose Bowl, the CFP quarterfinals, and beat Oregon by an equally wide margin in the semifinal round of the Peach Bowl.
Michigan basketball before the title game
Michigan won all five NCAA tournament games leading up to the national championship game by double-digit margins, scoring at least 90 points in each game. Michigan basketball was the same steamroller as Indiana football in the postseason rounds before the national title game.
Similar national championship games
Indiana football and Michigan basketball had very similar championship games. They outscored their opponents for most of the game, but couldn’t pull away completely and had to sweat until the end. Indiana took a big hit from Miami and survived to win by six points, 27-21. Michigan fought UConn in a true battle, but managed to win by six points, 69-63. Both teams were tested but prevailed by the same number of points.
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Medium important success
Curt Cignetti and Dusty May are also linked in their middling success before reaching the Big Ten. Cignetti won at James Madison while Dusty May won at Florida Atlantic.
The best of the best
Without a doubt, Curt Cignetti and Dusty May did the best coaching jobs in their sports this season. The two defeated big-name coaches, Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, in the semifinal round before prevailing in the national championship games. Indiana won the title game at Miami’s home stadium. Michigan won its title game against a true college basketball dynasty in UConn.
Curt Cignetti and Dusty May are national champions, and yet the similarities between them and their teams’ runs to glory go far beyond the trophies themselves.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Dusty May and Curt Cignetti followed similar paths to national titles.