Indiana Sells Out Football Season Tickets After Shocking National Title

Bloomington, Ind. — Less than six weeks after Indiana captured its first football national championship in 139 seasons of play, the Hoosiers have run the table again—this time in the ticket office. Athletic officials announced Tuesday that the school’s entire 2026 season-ticket allotment has been exhausted, locking newcomers into a waitlist barely a month after the confetti fell in the title game.

The sell-out was confirmed when Apple TV sideline reporter and Indiana alum Tricia Whitaker posted a screenshot from the university’s ticketing portal that read: “2026 IU Football season tickets are currently sold out. Fans interested in future availability are encouraged to join the official season ticket waitlist to receive updates as seats become available.”

The frenzy is the latest ripple from what insiders are calling “the Cignetti effect.” Curt Cignetti, hired on Nov. 30, 2023, inherited a program saddled with more all-time losses than any in major-college history. In the 29 games since, Indiana is 27-2 overall and 17-1 in the Big Ten, with the lone setbacks coming in 2024 at eventual national finalists Ohio State and Notre Dame.

The breakthrough arrived in 2025. Indiana stormed to a perfect 16-0 record, toppling No. 1 Ohio State 13-10 for the Big Ten crown, blasting No. 9 Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl, routing No. 5 Oregon 56-22 in the Peach Bowl semifinal and edging No. 10 Miami 27-21 in the College Football Playoff championship game.

The historic run has translated into unprecedented demand at Memorial Stadium, where capacity is listed at 53,524. IU averaged 51,184 fans per home date last fall, and athletic department officials expect every seat to be spoken for once the 2026 campaign kicks off.

Rewarding the architect of the turnaround, university brass recently extended Cignetti’s contract through 2033 at $13.2 million annually, placing him third among all college football head coaches in compensation.

With season tickets gone months before the first snap, Indiana’s transformation from perennial afterthought to national powerhouse now has a waiting list to prove it.