BLOOMINGTON Curt Cignetti took over the Indiana football program two years ago, when winning was a rarity for the Hoosiers. His team is now a championship contender, and the university has paid up to keep him in Bloomington.

Cignetti officially signed an eight-year, $92.8 million dollar extension days before Indiana's homecoming game against Michigan State. The extension is fully guaranteed, which means the university will pay Cignetti the entire amount even if he is fired.

Thousands of Hoosier alumni returned to Bloomington for the homecoming game and many of them are fans of Cignetti's new deal.

"With the talent level and the wins, I think he's the best coach in America," said Reid Gault, a 1996 IU alumnus whose son is a sophomore at the university. "I think he earned all that money."

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