Google me. When Curt Cignetti said those words at a signing-day press conference in 2023, few outside of Indiana could have predicted what would follow. Now, with a national championship on his resume, Cignetti has become college football’s sole representative on TIME’s inaugural 100 Most Influential People in Sports list.

Cignetti was a special mention on the list alongside prominent figures in the NBA, NFL, soccer, combat sports, tennis, and other sports.

“Two words will forever be associated with Curt Cignetti, who led Indiana to its first national football championship in January: ‘Google me,'” TIME wrote in Cignetti’s bio.

“That’s what Cignetti said at the national-signing-day press conference in 2023 when asked how he was going to sell his vision for the Hoosiers to high school recruits and players in the transfer portal. His point: he was a winner, as evidenced by the success he enjoyed at smaller programs, most recently James Madison, which he led to a 41-8 record across four seasons and appearances in the AP Top 25 rankings in 2022 and 2023.”

Cignetti has played a massive role in improving the Hoosiers since his hire in 2023. Indiana was coming off a disappointing 3-9 season (1-8 in the Big Ten) and had compiled a 9-27 record over the previous three years. What followed was one of the greatest turnarounds in the sport’s history.

The Hoosiers went 27-2 in his first two seasons, including a perfect 16-0 campaign in 2026 that ended with a national championship. Indiana defeated Miami 27-21 in the title game to cap off the historic season. He also rightfully won the George Munger Award as the country’s top coach.

One of Cignetti’s star players, Fernando Mendoza, also made the TIME 100 list. He entered the league as an NFL player after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this year. He won the Heisman Trophy following a historic season with Indiana, in which he threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns at a 72% completion rate.

He is joined by other NFL players, like former Penn State and Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, former Texas A&M and LA Rams defensive end Myles Garrett, and former Ohio State Buckeye and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Ex-Ohio State Buckeye and ex-Penn State Nittany Lion make list

Former Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who recently won Super Bowl LX, was among the notable names featured on TIME’s inaugural TIME100 Sports list alongside Cignetti. Super Bowl LIX champion Saquon Barkley also earned a spot on the list. The two stars are the current and reigning NFL Offensive Players of the Year, respectively.

“While at Ohio State, Jaxon Smith-Njigba—the football artist known as JSN—broke the record for receiving yards at the Rose Bowl, with 347 on New Year’s Day 2022. In his rookie NFL season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2023, his one-handed catch on Thanksgiving, in front of a prime-time national TV audience, announced his arrival. A Pro Bowl berth and 1,000-plus receiving yards followed in 2024. Then this past season, JSN’s 119 receptions, league-best 1,793 receiving yards, and 10 touchdown catches won him NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors,” TIME wrote about Smith-Njigba,

And talking about Saquon Barkley, they shed light on his 2024 season when he became only the ninth player in the NFL to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

“He continued to thrive in the playoffs, including a 78-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, putting the Eagles on a path to a Super Bowl victory.” TIME added, about the Philadelphia Eagles star.

Other notable names on the list are LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Dana White, Oleksandr Usyk, and Roger Goodell.