AWOL

AWOL

In the military, AWOL means “Absent Without Leave.”

I received a text message,

“We used to get your blog at our home email address. However, that is no longer true. Could you add us back in?”

I’ve got to admit, I’ve been away from the keyboard for an extended period of time. Have you missed me? Lie to me, and tell me, “Yes, Mr. Duncan, I have missed you!”

“Why have I been AWOL?”

“Well, I have been sick.” And you know how grown men can be when we are sick.

I’m not going to mess around and make you read lots of words just to find out where I have been for the last month. I’m calling my “sickness” a Head Cold. Then I was told I had the Flu, and then I was tested for COVID. Everyone made me feel like I was going to die.

After taking the long stick with fuzzy stuff on the end and shoving it up my nose and going through the testing procedures, it was clear I was not going to die. Nope, I don’t have COVID. I’m not sure I had the Flu. Okay, maybe, but I don’t think so. I was tired, I had chills, and my head was loaded with all the stuff you don’t want to know about. No temperature, I just felt ugly.

I decided to sleep it off. So that’s what I did. Before hitting the sheets, I stumbled to the Command Center and my desktop computer. I bought a stock position in Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) ($99.00). I was using so many Kleenexes, I figured my self-imposed cure of “blowing my nose” alone would raise their stock price.

I surrendered to a horizontal position on my queen-sized bed and turned up my electric mattress pad to #3. I had some fantastic dreams while under the spell. Some dreams were full of conflict, and some were even hostile. Then other dreams would require an “R” rating. No children allowed. They were so good, I didn’t want to wake up and leave the fantasies. So, for the first couple of weeks of January, I slept a lot.

Then I began to wake up. I decided to get out of bed. I had an appetite. Nothing crazy, mind you, just a little of this and that. I noticed my blue jeans were a little loose, so I forced myself to get on the hospital size scale (nearly naked) in the Command Center.

I was down about 15 pounds. I guess when you don’t eat for a couple of weeks, that’s one way to lose weight. But, not to worry, I’m sure after eating a half dozen jumbo shrimp smothered in St Elmo’s cocktail sauce, a good thick filet mignon, or a butter battered medium rare ribeye with a batch of crispy French fries, and a piece of Bailey Bakery’s moist fruit cocktail cake with a generous amount of brown sugar, and a nut mixture on top, smothered in a coconut cream icing, I will be brought back to life. Then I will relax. I think I will top it off with a tumbler of The Famous Grouse. Now I’m back to fighting weight.

The weather, as everyone knows, has been brutal this season. In trying to figure out how I got my Head Cold, I need to go back to the end of December 2025, or did it start the beginning of January 2026? I’ve got a great idea. I’m going to blame my pestilence and disease on the Indiana University football team, ESPN, and Taylor’s Pub and Grill.

Indiana University President Pamela Whitten and Athletic Director Scott Dolson decided to put their money where their mouth was. They decided they were tired of losing football games. They wanted to play with the Big Dogs. They fired Tom Allen. They talked to a lot of other coaches. Curt Cignetti had been overlooked for years. Why did the President or the Athletic Director fire Tom Allen, the former Indiana University football coach? The 2023 season was a disaster. 3-9. Everyone was tired of losing.

• Curt Cignetti was the head football coach at James Madison University.

• His 5-year win-loss record was 52-9.

• 2019: 14–2 (FCS National Championship Runner-up)

• 2020: 7–1 (FCS Semifinals)

• 2021: 12–2 (FCS Semifinals)

• 2022: 8–3 (Transitioned to FBS/Sun Belt)

• 2023: 11–1 (Sun Belt East Division Champions)

December 2023 - Curt Cignetti is hired as the new Indiana University Football Coach.

Indiana offered Cignetti a six-year deal at $4 million a year. For those of you in Singapore, that’s $4 million × 6 years, totaling a $24 million contract. General math at William Penn Elementary School #49 taught me my multiplication tables.

Honestly, IU’s nine-member Board of Trusties offered Cignetti the same money that Tom Allen (Former Coach) was paid. However, Indiana University added a bonus for this, and a bonus for that, and if you win a championship game, IU will pay you an additional half million for that, so Cignetti’s compensation package was around $27 million for 6 years.

Not a bad deal for Curt Cignetti, who was making $677,311 a year as head coach of James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. (I have no idea where that is either.) JMU has a student body of 22,800. Indiana University has a student population of 90,000.

When IU hired Cignetti, the student body and the Alumni didn’t believe anything would really change. Indiana University football has always been known as the most losing college football team in America. What can this guy (Cignetti) change?

Cignetti, the new hire, attended a pep rally in the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to be introduced.

(The Assembly Hall received a 40-million-dollar facelift from the daughter of Mel Simon. (Mel Simon died in 2009) And they placed the daughter’s name on the hallowed basketball arena. Mel Simon was a prominent American real estate developer who co-founded Simon Property Group, the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States. Mel Simon was also a co-owner of the Indiana Pacers. Simon Property offices are based in Indianapolis.)

So, Cignetti, sensing that the student body and everyone else don’t believe change is coming, is now really worried. He needs to win over the student body. So, he grabs the microphone and walks onto the hardwood basketball floor that Bobby Knight made famous. And he begins his trash-talking. Purdue Sucks, Ohio State Sucks. The 17,000 sitting in the stands can’t believe they have a coach that is going to “trash-talk Purdue and Ohio State.” Is this the new Bobby Knight? The crowd goes crazy. Then Cignetti says the words that will more than likely follow him for the rest of his life.

“Don’t know who I am? Google Me … I Win.”

Cignetti’s first year at Indiana as coach: (2024-2025 Season - 11-2)

Most of you couldn't care less about Indiana University Football. And I would be surprised if you are still with me at this point.

In fact, if you look at the viewership numbers. (TV). An ESPN college football game in the regular season attracts only about 2 million viewers, if they are lucky. The same pitiful numbers the late-night talk shows attract.

You know I love numbers: with 330 million people in the United States, 2 million viewers are less than 1 percent of the population. (.06%) So, I realize a lot of you have already moved on. Yes, I know, you have already heard this Indiana University football story generated by the sports media before. But, this is MY take on the event.

Tom Allen, with his 3 wins and 9 loss record, was simply an embarrassment to the 805,000 Indiana University Alumni. And to make things worse, 417,000 Alumni live in Indiana. Who’s going to buy a $60.00 Indiana University sweatshirt when your school is 3-9? Indiana University’s 805,000 Alumni wallets are slammed shut. Keeping their money and spending it on other activities they feel proud about. Not spending any time or money on Indiana University football, that’s for sure.

Key Indiana University Alumni include Mark Cuban, Susan Collins author of The Hunger Games), Laverne Cox (actress), Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia co-founder), and Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz. Other notable figures include actor Jonathan Banks, cute, charming journalist Jane Pauley, and Disney producer Howard Ashman. Don’t forget Rocker John Mellencamp. Melencamp still lives in Bloomington and attends every IU football game. Win or lose.

But here are the important numbers. On average, 7-8% of college Alumni give to their alma mater. 46-54% of Princeton University Alumni support their school. Princeton is the exception, not the norm. So, if you have a Bobby Knight winning basketball team or a Curt Cignetti winning football team, the Alumni will get behind the school with CASH!

And they will also buy two $60.00 IU sweatshirts and attend the games in person or watch them on TV. The TV money will also flow to the Indiana University football drain.

The money will roll in, that’s for sure. It’s not hard to second-guess the numbers.

An Indiana University football seat costs between $86.00 and $130.00. Multiply that by 53,500 seats. If Memorial Stadium is sold out, IU is looking at $4.6m - $7m a game.

Indiana University plays 7 regular-season games at home, out of 12 games. That means, $33 million to $49 million a season. A winning team generates a lot more money than a losing football team. In fact, it has been said that more people tailgated outside the stadium than attended the football games.

There was quite a following for this football team. As Indiana got closer to the end of the season, I had my doubts. A lot of people, including myself, thought this might be a fluke.

Indiana more than likely will never play in the College Playoff National Championship. I was sure there was no way this team would go all the way. I don’t have any affiliation with Indiana University; I did not attend their school. I simply wanted to see when the magic was going to crumble.

Last year’s (2024-2025) season was impressive (11 wins and 2 losses. Ohio State during the regular season and Notre Dame during the playoffs.)

Now let me stop right here and goose this story a little. Indiana hires Cignetti for $4 million a year. Cignetti now has a 10-0 record. (This is his first year. 2024) The chatter is now starting to get interesting. What college team is going to offer Cignetti a contract with more money? Oh, come on, no one would do that! WOULD THEY?

The talk started at about Cignetti’s 4-0 record. Then at 6-0, things really got interesting. One wonders what the powers that be at Indiana University were thinking. I’m sure there were meetings, anxiety, dismay, and consternation. They were fearful that they were about to lose their golden goose. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. Did anyone actually say, “We need to do something!” Of course, they bought Cignetti at bargain basement prices. Remember? No one really expected anything different to happen to the football program. And I’m guessing some of the Board of Trustees were feeling the same way.

When I look at the folks above, I try to second-guess who voted yes and who hesitated to pay the big money to keep Cignetti. Of course, the “MARKET” was making the decisions. They lost control of the purse strings a long time ago. They had no choice. They were overruled by performance. (Cignetti’s Win-Loss record).

“You like winning? You like the money rolling in? You want to play with the Big Dogs in the conference?” Then reach for your wallets and place your bets, boys and girls.

October 2024, Indiana football is now (10-0). The “Powers” doubled Cignetti’s pay from $4 million to $8 million. I’m sure some board members choked when voting on the pay raise. After all, this was new territory. We aren’t in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. We ended the 2023-2024 season (11-1)

“Inconceivable”

I wondered if Indiana could keep winning. Holy smokes, the next season (2025-2026), Indiana won 12 regular-season games. As each week went by, and Indiana won another game, it became the only game in town to watch.

Indiana was at a 10-0 win-loss record (season two). The Indiana University President and the Athletic Director, along with the Board of Trustees, were again living a nightmare. It was rumored that Penn State would offer Cignetti a 11.15-million-dollar contract. This guy (Cignitti) is the real deal. Sports media were having a heyday. Who will hire Cignetti away from Indiana? Penn State felt like a real threat. Panic was the operative emotion inside the halls of Indiana University. We need to do something. But what?

Someone suggested, Let’s do a little research. Like they didn’t research before?

Who is paid what?

Kirby Smart, Georgia - $13,003,000 (117-21)

Ryan Day, Ohio State - $12,500,000 (75-10)

Lincoln Riley, USC - $11,537,560 (90-28)

Dabo Swinney, Clemson - $11,258,575 (187-53)

Steve Sarkisian, Texas - $10,800,000 (94-55)

Dan Lanning, Oregon - $10,400,000 (48-8)

Kalen DeBoer, Alabama - $10,250,000 (104-12)

Brian Kelly, LSU - $10,175,000 (113-40)

Bill Belichick, North Carolina - $10,100,000 (133-178)

Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame - $7,200,000 (43-12)

Barry Odom, Purdue - $7,000,000 (44-33)

Curt Signitti – James Madison - $677,311 (146-37)

Indiana needed to keep a winner if it wanted the gravy train to continue and liked this new, rarified air Indiana was living in. It’s a hell of a lot more fun winning than losing. Aye?

So, on October 16, 2025, Indiana University raised Curt Signtti’s salary for a second time to 11.6 million dollars a year, for the next 8 years. Curt Signitti will be a Hoosier till 2033.

The local television stations started broadcasting the last couple of regular-season games. I pulled in the signal through my antenna in the attic. But when it came to the last four championship games, ESPN bought the rights to broadcast all college playoff games with a check for $1.3 billion. I could only see the game on ESPN. I don’t have ESPN. I was stuck.

Now, let me be clear, I have fiber internet, but I do not subscribe to any streaming services. I refuse to pay ESPN $299.00 a year to watch their sports service.

I installed a good antenna in my attic to watch the local broadcast stations, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS. I have a local FOX station that broadcasts NFL games on Sunday, including CBS. I can also watch NBC Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football through my local ABC affiliate. But I need to wait a few hours to watch Indiana football on YouTube. YouTube offers an 18-minute wrap-up of the games. So, that’s good enough for me.

I have a wife who graduated from IU, and she wanted to watch the games. She was livid that she couldn't watch the game from home. I’m not willing to spend $299.00 a year on ESPN. (I know I have already said that. Several times.)

TW (The Wife) went to Hammond, Indiana, to a gal pal’s home to watch the game with Ohio State on ESPN.

Dec 6, 2025 - The Big 10 Championship. IU-Ohio State 13-10. (19M TV viewers)

Jan 1, 2025 - The Rose Bowl, (Quarter Final) IU-Alabama 38-3. (25M TV viewers)

Jan 9, 2025 - The Peach Bowl, (Semifinal) IU-Oregon 56-22. (21M TV viewers)

Jan 19, 2025 - National Championship game. IU-Miami 27-21. (33M TV viewers)

To keep my marriage from falling completely apart, I agreed to take TW to a bar to watch the championship games on their TVs. I picked the bar; it was a little 100-seat Pub and Grill called Taylor’s about 3 miles from the house. I joined 100 or so of my Personal and Very Close Friends.

We went to Taylor’s Pub three times. The Rose Bowl, The Peach Bowl, and the National Championship Game. This is where I believe I caught the bug. On the way home from the National Championship Game, I was cold. I was not feeling well. All I wanted to do was get in bed and turn up the heat on the electric blanket. So, it’s my perception that my Head Cold came from one of the 100 people in the pub. No, I can’t prove it! But that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Oh, and by the way, my three bar tabs were $94.75, $70.95, $88.11 = $254.00.

I may need to rethink this subscription thing to ESPN.