Anthony Breen

SYNERGISTIC | 1831 Media

[First Word With James Rapien @FirstWordCincy]

Rooooollin' on Tuesday 🛼

https://t.co/zhsJ8FuDFk
Watch: https://t.co/zhsJ8FuDFk

[First Word With James Rapien @FirstWordCincy]

First Word is LIVE now. Join us! https://t.co/6TGkhdA8KW

[James Rapien @JamesRapien]

The amazing thing about First Word isn’t just what you see on camera. It’s all the work going on behind the scenes that will make this show GREAT.

The @TheCincyCrown team is just starting to scratch the surface of what we’re going to be. I couldn’t be more excited for it!

[James Rapien @JamesRapien]

Happy Monday. It's GO TIME on @FirstWordCincy!

Let's GOOOOO!

https://t.co/YXQHXgncb7

[The Crown @TheCincyCrown]

One week down, many more to come.

Thank you, Cincinnati!

[Colleen Hanycz @PrezHanycz]

Thank you to the 1,200+ fans that showed up in June to welcome this Xavier men’s basketball team.

That kind of energy does not happen everywhere. It happens here.

Xavier basketball is built different. Thank you, Xavier Nation. ⚔️ #LetsGoX

[James Rapien @JamesRapien]

Thank you for making this week so much fun! So many people have put in a TON of time to get @firstwordcincy up & running. We’re so excited to be YOUR morning show, Cincinnati! Wherever you are & however you may have watched/listened, thank you! This is just the beginning!

[The Crown @TheCincyCrown]

Cincinnati, we are here for you.

Welcome to @FirstWordCincy with @JamesRapien on the Crown:

[Cincinnati Business Courier @BusinessCourier]

Xavier spent somewhere between $5 million and $6 million last year paying its men's basketball team. This year? It's committing more. https://t.co/DGXrchoxhs

[Cincinnati Business Courier @BusinessCourier]

President Colleen Hanycz said her plan to grow Xavier's student body started with a vision she had one year ago after enrollment numbers plunged 20%. https://t.co/Pt1sQx1kUo

[James Rapien @JamesRapien]

What a move. Let’s go LIVE🚨🔥

https://t.co/wQtY7bV1RU

[John Fanta @John_Fanta]

A gold medal on the line? And you pull off this move to lead your country over Canada?

Megan Keller. USA legend. 🇺🇸�

[Joe Sullivan @JoeSullivanX]

I’m proud to help a place I love with people I love. Thank you @XavierU

[Xavier Basketball @XavierMBB]

.@XavierMBB 🤝 @Reds

#LetsGoX

[Anthony Breen @BreenAnthony77]

If you’re in the world of higher education, I would consider this a must-read.

[Joe Pompliano @JoePompliano]

Curt Cignetti will soon sign a new contract with Indiana that pays him at least $12.5 million per year.

But after digging into the numbers, Cignetti might still be the most undervalued coach in college football (and not for the reason you might think).

We all know what Cignetti has done at IU is remarkable — he turned a perennial cellar-dweller into the national championship favorite just two years after his arrival.

This has transformed IU's athletic department:

• Before the 2025 season even kicked off, ticket revenue for IU's football team had surpassed $13 million.

• Indiana announced a $50 million stadium naming rights deal with Merchants Bank.

• Fundraising has hit a record high, with billionaire IU alum Mark Cuban donating to the athletic department for the first time ever.

But that's the obvious stuff; Cignetti's real impact comes in the admissions office.

IU's football team is essentially a marketing vehicle for the university — 24 million people watched them win the Rose Bowl, 18 million watched them win the Big Ten Championship, and when College Gameday visited Indiana's campus last year, more than 2 million people watched a 3-hour commercial about the school.

This publicity is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and is having a real impact on Indiana's finances.

In 2025 alone, Indiana University set school records for total enrollment (48,626 students), freshman class size (10,127 students), first-year out-of-state students (4,697), and application volume (73,400).

Indiana University Applicants
• 2019-20: 44,178
• 2020-21: 46,623
• 2021-22: 50,159
• 2022-23: 54,345
• 2023-24: 67,731
• 2024-25: 73,400

But since IU can only admit so many students each year, they leverage the additional demand to 1) rotate the composition of their student body toward out-of-state students, and 2) become more selective academically.

Out-of-state students now account for about 50% of IU's total enrollment, with the school admitting a total of 4,697 new out-of-state students in 2025 — roughly 500 more out-of-state students than IU's previous record.

This is an important distinction because out-of-state students pay $30,000 more in annual tuition – $12,000 for Indiana residents versus $42,000 for non-residents.

500 new out-of-state students
x $30,000 tuition difference
–––––––––
= $15 million annually

If you multiply that by a four-year degree, these out-of-state students are worth $60 million more to IU than their in-state counterparts.

And since football success attracts more applicants, IU's admissions office can be more selective.

Indiana's Fall 2025 class had a median high school GPA of 3.94 — the highest in IU admissions history.

This creates a virtuous cycle.

Better sports → more applicants → better students → higher rankings. Higher rankings then lead to even more applicants, and, eventually, higher tuition revenues.

This is exactly what happened at Alabama with Nick Saban, and it's a big reason why Indiana is completely comfortable giving Cignetti new contracts every year.

P.S. If you enjoyed this breakdown, join 135,000 others who learn about the business and money behind sports by reading my 3x weekly newsletter: https://t.co/OgN8EYGDHY

[Rebound Rundown @ReboundRundown]

Thank you to everyone who made 2025 our best year yet.

Here is to 2026!

[Pitino Show @PitinoShow]

The non-con is over. It's time for the Big East.

🎥: https://t.co/bwp2XlMHwt

[Paul Fritschner @PaulFritschner]

Noticed this right away watching this year's Shootout and remembered what happened last year in a critical spot.

Had some fun breaking it down.

Hop in for a quick film room session!

[Rebound Rundown @ReboundRundown]

"Cincinnati's drought at Cintas Center will continue."

Relive Xavier's win in the 93rd Crosstown Shootout: https://t.co/4XGDyklDel