Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti fuels himself with the same Chipotle burrito bowl every single day of the week, a team director has confirmed.
Cignetti has masterminded one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history at Indiana, a school which had a 9-26 record across three consecutive losing seasons before his arrival.
Under his guidance, the Hoosiers have gone from strugglers to champions after winning the College Football Playoff final on Monday night, with a 27-21 victory over the Miami Hurricanes getting them over the line.
And incredibly, one of the secrets behind Cignetti’s remarkable success is famous Mexican-inspired restaurant chain Chipotle.
In the lead-up to Monday’s College Football Playoff final, assistant director of football operations Jake McDonald revealed the Hoosiers coach orders a burrito bowl consisting of rice, beans, chicken and guacamole every single day without fail, unless his team is traveling.
‘He just wants to be able to eat it, watch his film and go for the next game,’ McDonald, who has picked up his bowl for the past two years, told the Washington Street Journal last week. ‘He’s a simple man.’
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti eats the same Chipotle bowl every single day of every single week
Cignetti orders the same bowl of rice, chicken, beans and guacamole from the restaurant
McDonald also reaps the rewards of Cignetti’s obsession with Chipotle, as despite not paying for the order himself, he receives the never-ending reward points to his own account.
He once purchased roughly 64,000 bowls for the boss, which is the equivalent of spending around $6,400. After their semifinal win over Oregon, he had racked up 18,529 points – enough for 11 free burritos, 37 sides of guacamole, 53 bags of chips and 218 extra tortillas.
‘We are aware of Coach Cignetti’s fandom and have been in contact with his management,’ a Chipotle spokesperson is quoted as saying. ‘Right now, it’s important that we allow him to continue focusing on his team’s ultimate goal.’
Cignetti could be in line to receive a special ‘Celebrity Card’ from the restaurant, which was introduced for special aficionados in 2003 when rock legend Ozzy Osbourne praised them on his reality show.
Rapper Big Sean and New York Knicks basketball star Mikal Bridges, who previously claimed to have eaten Chipotle every day since 2013, are among the lucky celebrities in possession of one.
Cignetti’s tendency to repeat meals goes back 15 years to his first head-coaching job at the University of Pennsylvania, when the menu was always set in stone on game days.
The Hoosiers boss guided them to victory in the College Football Playoff final on Monday
‘It would be chicken and zucchini or squash,’ former punter Brett Ullman explained. ‘We never ate differently except the one time we made it pretty far in the playoffs. We got steak.’
The coach’s love for Chipotle seemingly began in Indiana, after he asked McDonald if he wanted lunch and then told him: ‘Here’s my card. Go.’
Now, all of the town’s employees know his order by heart. ‘I don’t even have to say, like, “Make sure to take care of him with solid portions”,’ McDonald said.
‘I couldn’t do it as much as he does,” he added. ‘I like Chipotle. But getting it seven days a week?’
