MIAMI — Indiana football reached college football immortality Monday night with its College Football Playoff National Championship victory over the University of Miami. It lost a crucial assistant less than seven hours later.
Director of athletic performance Derek Owings is departing Bloomington to take the same position at the University of Tennessee, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz’s report Tuesday morning. Owings is set to become the highest-paid strength and conditioning coach in college football history with a $1.2 million annual salary.
Owings first joined head coach Curt Cignetti’s staff at James Madison University in 2020 before following Cignetti to Indiana in December 2023.
Less than two months into his tenure at Indiana, Cignetti said Owings was a member of his staff that he has “a lot of confidence in”
“Strength and conditioning has really changed through the years,” Cignetti said in February 2024. “It's become a very scientific thing. I think he's on the cutting edge, gets great results. I have 100% confidence in him. I don't mess with him. That's his area. I let him go.”
Now, Owings, who signed new contracts in December 2024 and May 2025 after he was pursued by other schools such as USC, is a national championship-winning coach. He joins former quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri as the lone Cignetti assistants to leave Bloomington.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
