Curt Cignetti, IUP’s head football coach from 2011 to 2016, has led the Indiana Hoosiers since 2024. (IU Athletics)
Former IUP football coach Curt Cignetti is standing on top of the college football mountain.
On Monday night, his Indiana Hoosiers beat the Miami Hurricanes, 27-21, in the College Football Playoff National Championship game in Miami, Florida, in front of more than 67,000 fans.
Cignetti was head coach at IUP from 2011 to 2016, and he led the Crimson Hawks to three NCAA Division II playoff berths and one PSAC championship. He is a son of former IUP head coach Frank Cignetti Sr. (1986-2005) and is the brother of current IUP assistant coach Frank Cignetti Jr.
Two of Cignetti’s assistants at Indiana are also former IUP coaches. Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan was an assistant here in 2016, and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines was on Cignetti’s staff here in 2014 and 2015.
Read more about IUP’s ties to Monday’s championship game in the story “ IUP Roots Run Deep in College Football's Biggest Game.”