Cignetti named 30th head football coach at Indiana University

By: ABC57 News Staff

Posted: Nov 30, 2023 3:18 PM EDT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University announced on Thursday that they have hired former James Madison University head coach Curt Cignetti to lead the Hoosiers football team into the new college football landscape.

On Sunday, the university fired its coach since 2017 Tom Allen. Allen started strong as the head ball coach but finished with three losing seasons and an overall record of 33-49 in seven seasons.

Cignetti will be the 30th coach in school history. In his fifth season as head coach at JMU, Cignetti posted an 11-1 record and finished his tenure with the Dukes with an overall mark of 52-9, including a 19-4 run over 2022 and 2023, JMU's first two years as an FBS program after transitioning from the FCS.

"I am very excited to welcome Curt Cignetti as the head football coach at Indiana University," Dolson said. "We had a very talented and deep pool of candidates, and Curt stood out thanks to an incredible track record of success over more than four decades in college football. As a head coach he's succeeded everywhere he's been, and as an assistant he has been a part of championship cultures while working alongside some of the game's best coaches. I appreciate the tremendous support throughout this process of Chair Quinn Buckner and the IU Board of Trustees and President Pam Whitten, all of whom were critical in making this day a reality."

Cignetti won 2023 Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors with JMU.

"I am excited to lead this program forward and change the culture, mindset, and expectation level of Hoosier football," Cignetti said. "I want to thank Director of Athletics Scott Dolson and President Pam Whitten, and I look forward to working with both in building something special at IU. Both share my vision and belief that big things are ahead for the IU program."

While JMU is not eligible for a conference championship game during their first two years transitioning from FCS to FBS, the Dukes are going to a bowl game due to a lack of bowl eligible teams this season. It is unlikely that Cignetti will be on the sidelines with JMU when that game takes place.

See more information from Indiana University on their new coach below.

Cignetti's Coaching History

JMU went 31-4 (.886) in conference play between the Sun Belt Conference (2022-23) and the Colonial Athletic Association (2019-21). The Dukes clinched three-consecutive CAA championships and playoff appearances, a berth in the 2019 FCS national championship game, and FCS semifinal appearances in 2020 and 2021.Cignetti boasted a 119-35 record in 13 seasons as a head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2011-16), Elon (2017-18), and JMU (2019-23). His teams reached the postseason on nine occasions and finished in the Top 25 nine times.

This past season Cignetti became the first coach to lead his team into the Top 25 during a program's first year of transition from FCS to FBS. In 2023, JMU clinched the school's first bowl bid, back-to-back Sun Belt East titles, and a Top-25 ranking for six-straight weeks.

A 2019 Eddie Robinson Award finalist, Cignetti mentored 27 Dukes to All-America status. At the conference level, he tutored one Player of the Year, three Offensive Players of the Year, two Defensive Players of the Year, and one Special Teams Player of the Year.

James Madison totaled 72 all-conference honorees, including 2023 Sun Belt Player of the Year quarterback Jordan McCloud and 2023 Defensive Player of the Year defensive lineman Jalen Green. Additionally, 17 Dukes carded spots on the All-Sun Belt team.

JMU went 8-3 overall with a 6-2 mark in conference play to finish tied for first in the Sun Belt East Division in 2022. The Dukes opened with a 5-0 record, earning its Top-25 nod for the first time. Wide receiver Kris Thornton and defensive lineman Isaac Ukwu collected honorable mention All-America recognition.

Cignetti led JMU to a 14-2 record and the national title appearance in his first campaign in Harrisonburg in 2019. JMU reeled off 14 consecutive wins, went 8-0 in league play, and notched eight nationally-ranked wins, with three inside the Top 10.A total of 10 players secured All-America status, including Ron'Dell Carter who was runner-up for the Buck Buchanan Award (most outstanding defensive player in FCS).

The Dukes went 7-1 and reached the FCS semifinals in 2020, and finished 12-2 with a conference championship and semifinal appearance in their final FCS season in 2021. James Madison produced 10 All-Americans for the second time in three years and 14 all-conference honorees.

Cole Johnson took fourth in the Walter Payton Award voting after throwing for JMU records in passing yardage (3,779) and passing touchdowns (41), while Ethan Ratke broke NCAA all-division records for career field goals (101) and scoring by a kicker (542) after making a school-best 29 kicks in 2021.Prior to his stint at JMU, Cignetti amassed a 14-9 record in two years at Elon, a program that went 12-45 in the previous five campaigns.

The Phoenix qualified for the FCS Playoffs in both seasons, just the second and third playoff berths in program history (2009).

Cignetti led Elon to a six-win improvement in 2017, going 8-4 and finishing second in the CAA at 6-2. He was named Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year as the Phoenix reached the postseason and finished 20th in the national rankings.

Elon secured a second-straight playoff appearance in 2018, with the ninth-ranked Phoenix knocking off No. 2 James Madison for the program's first-ever win over an FCS Top-5 opponent. The victory also snapped the Dukes' 22-game conference winning streak.

Cignetti's inaugural head-coaching opportunity came at IUP, where his father, Frank Cignetti Sr., patrolled the sidelines for 20 years. He went 53-17 with three playoff appearances and four Top 25s in six campaigns. The Crimson Hawks touted a 33-11 ledger in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference after a 4-10 two-year stretch prior to his arrival. Cignetti was 4-3 in the playoffs and had a final ranking as high as 12th (2016).

Cignetti's 27-year tenure as an FBS assistant coach featured a spot on Nick Saban's first coaching staff at Alabama. He served as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator (2007-10). The Crimson Tide went 12-2 in 2008, the same year Cignetti helped corral the nation's No. 1 recruiting class. Alabama followed with an undefeated national championship season in 2009, and a 10-win campaign in 2010.

He joined the Crimson Tide after a seven-year stint as recruiting coordinator (2000-06), tight ends coach (2000-02), and quarterbacks coach (2003-04) at North Carolina State. The Wolfpack reached five bowl games, including the 2002 Gator Bowl squad that set a program record with 11 victories.

His first run as a recruiting coordinator came at Pitt from (1993-99), where he also coached tight ends and quarterbacks at various times under College Football Hall of Fame head coach Johnny Majors. Cignetti started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pitt (1983-84) and was part of its Fiesta Bowl team his first year. He mentored quarterbacks and receivers at Davidson in 1985, and he oversaw the quarterbacks at Rice (1986-88) and Temple (1989-92).

Cignetti graduated from West Virginia in 1982, where he lettered as a quarterback and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration.

He is married to the former Manette Lawer. Curt and Manette have three children: Curtis John, Carly Ann, and Natalie Elise, who was an honorable mention All-American in volleyball at IUP.

His father, Frank, is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame after playing at IUP and compiling a coaching record of 199-77-1 at West Virginia (1976-79) and IUP (1986-2005). The field at IUP is named in his honor (Frank Cignetti Field @ George P. Miller Stadium).

Saban coached under Frank before later employing Curt. Curt's younger brother, Frank Jr., is a veteran college and NFL coach.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

James Madison University

2019-23: Head Coach

Elon University

2017-18: Head Coach

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

2011-16: Head Coach

University of Alabama

2007-10: Recruiting Coordinator/Wide Receivers

North Carolina State University

2000-06: Recruiting Coordinator/Quarterbacks/Tight Ends