Who is Curt Cignetti's father? What to know of Hall of Famer Frank Cignetti
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Long before Curt Cignetti became the wizard behind Indiana football’s historic turnaround, the Hoosiers’ second-year head coach got his head coaching start at a small liberal arts university in Western Pennsylvania called Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
It just happened to be the same Division II program that his dad, Frank Cignetti Sr., is a legend at as well.
No, pressure right?
The Hoosiers’ 64-year-old coach picked up where his dad left off in Indiana, Pennsylvania, as he led the Crimson Hawks to a 53-17 combined record with three NCAA Division II Playoff appearances and four top 25 ranking finishes in six seasons.
Now, all these years later at Indiana, Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers one win away from winning the program’s first national championship — which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday against No. 10 Miami at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida — and securing the 27th overall win in his two-years in Bloomington.
Here’s what to know on about Frank Cignetti Sr. ahead of Indiana’s CFP national championship game:
Who is Curt Cignetti’s dad?
Curt Cignetti’s dad is none other than Frank Cignetti Sr., the late legendary college football coach.
A former assistant coach at Pitt, Princeton and West Virginia, Frank Sr. is most known for his 19 seasons coaching his alma mater, IUP. Frank Sr. built the IUP program into a powerhouse, as the Crimson Hawks compiled a 182-50-1 overall record from 1986-2005. He also led the program to 13 playoff appearances, including six trips to the national semifinals.
Frank Sr. also spent four seasons as the head coach at West Virginia after Bobby Bowden decided to leave the Mountaineers for Florida State in 1976.
Like many young children, Frank Sr. is also his son’s inspiration, and a (if not the) reason he got into coaching.
“My dad was a great role model growing up. I was the oldest of four, and he led by example. He had a presence about him, and he had great work ethic, disciplined commitment,” Cignetti said during CFP media day on Saturday, Jan. 17.
“Back then — grew up western PA, everybody worked in the mill or the mines, and he went to college and became an assistant at Pitt, Princeton, West Virginia for Bobby Bowden, became the head coach (at West Virginia), and then came down with cancer my senior year of high school and was given his last rites twice.
“He didn’t really get to finish what he started there (at IUP). But yeah, he was my inspiration.”
Ahead of the Peach Bowl against No. 5 Oregon, Curt Cignetti got to visit his dad’s enshrinement at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, as one of his media availabilities took place there. It marked the first time that Cignetti was able to see his dad’s enshrinement, as he was unable to attend his induction ceremony in 2013.
“We were in fall camp at IUP, and I wasn’t going to miss practice. My brothers and sisters all went,” Curt Cignetti said. “…So this is the first time I’ve ever been in this building, and I did get to kind of see — and it was nice to be able to do that. I learned so much from my dad, you know. I don’t even know where to start.
“He was a great leader, and he led by example, and he was a role model, and he was a strong man. He had a little John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in him. … I knew in third grade I wanted to coach, and he had a lot of pearls of wisdom.”
Frank Sr. passed away in September of 2022 following a battle with lymphoid granulomatosis, a rare form of cancer. He finished with an 199-77-1 overall record in a combined 24 seasons at the IUP and West Virginia.
Frank Cignetti coaching career
Here’s a stop-by-stop breakdown of Frank Cignetti’s coaching career:
- 1966-1968: Pitt (assistant coach)
- 1969: Princeton (assistant coach)
- 1970-1975: West Virginia (assistant coach)
- 1976-1979: West Virginia
- 1986-2005: Indiana University of Pennsylvania *
* Denotes Division II program
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Curt Cignetti’s father? WTK of Frank Cignetti, HOF inductee
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