Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Indiana |
Conference | Big Ten |
Record | 3–0 |
Annual salary | $4.25 million [1] |
Biographical details | |
Born | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | June 2, 1961
Playing career | |
1979–1982 | West Virginia |
Position(s) | Quarterback |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1983–1984 | Pittsburgh (GA) |
1985 | Davidson (QB/WR) |
1986–1988 | Rice (QB) |
1989–1992 | Temple (QB) |
1993–1999 | Pittsburgh (QB/TE) |
2000–2006 | NC State (QB/TE/RC) |
2007–2010 | Alabama (WR/RC) |
2011–2016 | IUP |
2017–2018 | Elon |
2019–2023 | James Madison |
2024–present | Indiana |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 122–35 |
Tournaments | 4–3 (NCAA D-II playoffs) 6–5 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
1 PSAC (2012) 2 Sun Belt East Division (2022, 2023) 2 PSAC West Division (2012, 2015) 3 CAA (2019–2021) | |
Awards | |
PSAC Coach of the Year (2012) CAA Coach of the Year (2017) CFN Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2022) Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2023) [2] | |
Curt Cignetti (born June 2, 1961) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the current head football coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. He was previously the head coach of the James Madison Dukes, Elon Phoenix, and IUP Crimson Hawks.
Cignetti was a two-year letterman at West Virginia University. [3]
After graduating from West Virginia, Cignetti coached at the University of Pittsburgh. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pitt in 1983 under Foge Fazio. He has also coached at Davidson College, Rice University, and Temple University. [3]
Cignetti joined Chuck Amato's new staff at NC State in 2000. The 2002 team set a school record with 11 wins. In 2003, Cignetti coached quarterback Philip Rivers, the ACC Player of the Year. In seven seasons, the Wolfpack participated in five bowls, winning four. In 2006, Cignetti recruited future Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson to the Wolfpack before joining Nick Saban's new staff at Alabama.
Cignetti was an original member of Saban's Alabama coaching staff in 2007, serving as wide receiver coach/recruiting coordinator. The 2008 team finished the regular season 12–0 and the 2009 team finished 14–0 and won the national championship. The Tide won 29 regular season games in a row between 2008 and 2010. Cignetti coached wide receiver Julio Jones and recruited Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram II and linebacker Dont'a Hightower, all members of the 2008 recruiting class, which featured six first-round NFL Draft choices.
IUP had a 4–10 conference record prior to Cignetti's arrival in 2011. In his first year as head coach, the team won 6 of its last 7 games, by an average of 28 points per game, to finish 7–3. In 2012, The Crimson Hawks won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals, finishing 12–2. Cignetti's 2013 team finished 9–2 and he led IUP to the NCAA playoffs in both 2015 and 2016. His 2016 team finished 10–2. Cignetti finished 53–17 at IUP with three NCAA playoff appearances and two conference championships. On December 31, 2016, he accepted the head coaching position at Elon University.
The Elon team had a 4–20 conference record and suffered through six straight losing seasons prior to Cignetti's arrival, but in his first season the squad won eight games in a row after an opening season loss to MAC champion Toledo. The Phoenix were ranked as high as 6th nationally, played James Madison for the conference championship and were selected for the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2009. Cignetti was named CAA coach of the year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year. In 2018, Cignetti led the Phoenix to a 27–24 win over James Madison, ending JMU's 22-game CAA Football winning streak and then FCS-best 19-game home winning streak. The win marked Elon's first over a top-five FCS opponent. [4] The Phoenix earned back to back NCAA playoff appearances for the first time in program history.
Cignetti was named Head Football Coach at James Madison on December 14, 2018. In his first season, Cignetti led the Dukes to a seven-game improvement over the prior season, finishing 14–2 and advancing the team through the playoffs to an appearance in the National Championship game. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 college football season was delayed with make-up dates scheduled in the early 2021 calendar year. JMU completed the revised 2020 football season with a 7–1 record and advanced to the Semifinals of the playoffs. JMU went 12–2 in the 2021 football season and announced a move from the Colonial Athletic Association to the Sun Belt Conference starting the following season.
Cignetti was named Head Football Coach at Indiana University on November 30, 2023. [5]
Cignetti and his wife, Manette, have three children, Curt Jr., Carly Ann, and Natalie Elise. Cignetti's father, Frank Cignetti Sr., won 199 games as a head coach at West Virginia University and IUP and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. [6] His brother, Frank Jr., also coaches and was most recently the offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh.
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IUP Crimson Hawks (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference)(2011–2016) | |||||||||
2011 | IUP | 7–3 | 5–2 | 3rd (West) | |||||
2012 | IUP | 12–2 | 6–1 | 1st (West) | L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal | 7 | |||
2013 | IUP | 9–2 | 5–2 | 2nd (West) | 24 | ||||
2014 | IUP | 6–5 | 5–4 | 5th (West) | |||||
2015 | IUP | 9–3 | 6–1 | T–1st (West) | L NCAA Division II Second Round | 19 | |||
2016 | IUP | 10–2 | 6–1 | 2nd (West) | L NCAA Division II Second Round | 12 | |||
IUP: | 53–17 | 33–11 | |||||||
Elon Phoenix (Colonial Athletic Association)(2017–2018) | |||||||||
2017 | Elon | 8–4 | 6–2 | 3rd | L NCAA Division I First Round | 21 | 20 | ||
2018 | Elon | 6–5 | 4–3 | 6th | L NCAA Division I First Round | 19 | 19 | ||
Elon: | 14–9 | 10–5 | |||||||
James Madison Dukes (Colonial Athletic Association)(2019–2021) | |||||||||
2019 | James Madison | 14–2 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I Championship | 2 | 2 | ||
2020–21 | James Madison | 7–1 | 3–0 | 1st (South) | L NCAA Division I Semifinal | 3 | 3 | ||
2021 | James Madison | 12–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division I Semifinal | 3 | 3 | ||
James Madison Dukes (Sun Belt Conference)(2022–2023) | |||||||||
2022 | James Madison | 8–3 | 6–2 | T–1st (East) [lower-alpha 1] | |||||
2023 | James Madison | 11–1 | 7–1 | 1st (East) [lower-alpha 1] | Armed Forces [lower-alpha 2] | 25 | 24 | ||
James Madison: | 52–9 | 31–4 | |||||||
Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten Conference)(2024–present) | |||||||||
2024 | Indiana | 3–0 | 1–0 | ||||||
Indiana: | 3–0 | 1–0 | |||||||
Total: | 122–35 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
|
Michael Chester "Mickey" Matthews is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at James Madison University (JMU) from 1999 to 2013, compiling a record of 109–71. Matthews coached the 2004 James Madison Dukes football team to an NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship.
The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers have played their home games at Memorial Stadium since 1960. The team has won the Big Ten Championship twice, once in 1945 and again in 1967. The Hoosiers have appeared in 12 bowl games, including the 1968 Rose Bowl. Six Indiana players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, including Zora Clevinger, Bill Ingram, Pete Pihos, George Taliaferro, John Tavener, and Anthony Thompson, who was also National Player of the Year in 1989. The Hoosiers are currently led by head coach Curt Cignetti.
Frank Cignetti Sr. was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at West Virginia University from 1976 to 1979 and at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) from 1986 to 2005, compiling a career college football record of 199–77–1. Cignetti led the IUP Indians to the title game of the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 1990 and 1993. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2013.
Frank Cignetti Jr. is an American football coach who was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Before Pitt, he was the offensive coordinator at Boston College and the quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has also been the quarterbacks coach for the New York Giants in 2016 and 2017. Prior to that, he served as the quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis Rams from 2012 to 2014 and offensive coordinator for the Rams in 2015.
The James Madison Dukes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's second president. The Dukes play as members of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), which sponsors sports at the NCAA Division I level. In football, JMU participates in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of Division I, formerly known as Division I-A. JMU was a charter member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA),. The Dukes officially left the CAA and joined the SBC in 2022, participating in Division I FBS football and other sports sponsored by the conference.
The James Madison Dukes football program represents James Madison University in the sport of American football. The Dukes compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), beginning play within the conference for the 2022 season. The university first fielded a football team in 1972, and the Dukes play at the on-campus Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Dukes are currently coached by Bob Chesney.
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks, commonly known as the IUP Crimson Hawks and formerly called the IUP Indians, are the varsity athletic teams that represent Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which is located in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The university and all of its intercollegiate sports teams compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) within the NCAA Division II. The university sponsors 19 different teams, including eight teams for men and eleven teams for women: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, football, men's golf, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball.
The James Madison Dukes men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The school, a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, joined the Sun Belt Conference on July 1, 2022, after having been a member of the Colonial Athletic Association since that league's establishment in 1979. The Dukes are led by head coach Preston Spradlin. The Dukes play their home games at the on-campus Atlantic Union Bank Center which seats 8,500 fans and opened in November 2020. The Dukes have appeared six times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2024.
The IUP Crimson Hawks football program represents Indiana University of Pennsylvania in college football at the NCAA Division II level. The Crimson Hawks play their home games at George P. Miller Stadium in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
Michael Andrew Shanahan is an American football coach and former player. He played college football as a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Panthers and was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He is currently the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Indiana Hoosiers.
The 2015 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Everett Withers and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium and Zane Showker Field. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Dukes finished the regular season 9–2 to share the CAA championship with William & Mary and Richmond, who all finished with identical 6–2 conference records. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost in the second round to Colgate and finish the season 9–3.
The 2017 Elon Phoenix football team represented Elon University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Curt Cignetti and played their home games at Rhodes Stadium. They were members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 8–4, 6–2 in CAA play to finish in third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they were lost to Furman in the first round.
The 2018 Elon Phoenix football team represented Elon University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Curt Cignetti and played their home games at Rhodes Stadium. They were members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 6–5, 4–3 in CAA play to finish in sixth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they were lost to Wofford in the first round.
The 2019 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Curt Cignetti and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium. They competed as a member of CAA Football. They finished the season 14–2, 8–0 in CAA play to be CAA champions. They received the CAA's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Monmouth, Northern Iowa, and Weber State to advance to the FCS National Championship Game where they lost to North Dakota State.
Tony Trisciani is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina a position he has held since the 2019 season. Before becoming head coach, Trisciani was the defensive coordinator for the Elon Phoenix under head coach Curt Cignetti. Trisciani also served as the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Elon in 2006. He was named the head coach of Elon on December 17, 2018, after Curt Cignetti resigned to become the head coach at James Madison. Trisciani was the head football coach at Whitehall High School in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania from 2007 to 2011.
The 2020 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Curt Cignetti and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium.
The 2022 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Curt Cignetti. The Dukes played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia as members of the East division of the Sun Belt Conference. The Dukes finished the season 8–3, 6–2 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for first place in the East division.
The 2023 Sun Belt Conference football season was the 23rd season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The season began on August 31, 2023, and ended with its conference championship game on December 2, 2023. It was part of the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The conference consists of 14 member schools split into two divisions. The conference released its full season schedule on February 24, 2023.
The 2023 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University as a member of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Curt Cignetti, the Dukes played home games at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia as members of the East division of the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2024 Sun Belt Conference football season will be the 24th season of college football play for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The season is scheduled to begin August 31, 2024 and conclude with the Conference Championship Game on December 7, 2024. The season will be part of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The conference will consist of 14 football member split into two divisions. The conference released its full season scheduled on March 1, 2024.