Indiana hires JMU’s Cignetti as head coach

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WAVY) — After leading James Madison to a 52-9 record over the past five seasons, it had to reason that Curt Cignetti would be a hot commodity in the coaching ranks.

Indeed he was.

The Big 10’s Indiana has hired Cignetti to be its new football coach after firing Tom Allen Sunday. The Hoosiers just completed their third-straight losing season and finished 3-9. Since 2020, they have gone 9-26 overall, and 3-24 in conference play.

“This was a really difficult decision and I really wrestled with it hard,” Cignetti said in a statement. “These were the best five years of my professional life. We accomplished a lot every year but particularly the last two and this season was so special. I had total intentions and plans to retire here. I had a great job. The university really upped their commitment and did everything possible to keep me and the staff here. They couldn’t have done any more than they did.

Cignetti offered thanks to JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne and university president Jonathan Alger for their support and said the school’s football program is primed for further success.

“This is really hard to leave, but sometimes you have to make hard decisions and get uncomfortable again to grow, and I’m too young to stop growing,” Cignetti said. “This is a challenge, a big challenge, but I’m confident like all the other challenges I’ve had in my career as a head coach that we’re going to open some eyes nationally and in the Big Ten Conference.

Bourne and Indiana vice president and director of athletics Scott Dolson made the announcement Thursday.

“I want to thank Curt Cignetti for his dedication and commitment to excellence as head football coach at James Madison,” Bourne said in a statement. “He successfully steered JMU football through a critical period in our history. With our reclassification period now complete, James Madison is firmly established as one of the top Group of Five programs in the country and an ideal destination as we head into a 12-team playoff era.”

Cignetti’s run as the Dukes’ coach included its most recent period of going through its reclassification to the Football Bowl Subdivision, in which they have gone 19-4 over the past two seasons as a member of the Sun Belt Conference — including 13-3 in conference games — and will be playing in their first bowl game. The Dukes went 8-3 and 11-1 in their first two FBS seasons and were ranked in the AP top-25 for the first time in program history.

“We are grateful to Coach Curt Cignetti and acknowledge the tremendous transformation he led with the JMU football program,” said JMU president Jonathan Alger. “Through his leadership and in partnership with AD Jeff Bourne and all of us in leadership at JMU, our university and JMU Athletics have made history with a seamless transition to the Sun Belt Conference and FBS level, and we will soon make history again by playing in our first FBS bowl game. We congratulate Curt and his family on the next steps in his coaching career, as he has built a tremendous legacy at JMU.”

Cignetti has a 119-35 record in 13 seasons as a head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, (2011-2016), Elon (2017-2018) and James Madison (2019-2023), with his teams reaching the postseason nine times and finishing in the top 25 nine times.

“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.”

Prior to JMU’s move to FBS, the Dukes won three-consecutive Colonial Athletic Association championships, reaching the FCS title game in 2019 and the semifinal round in both 2020 and 2021.

James Madison will retain a search firm for an immediate national search for a new head football coach.

“In the coming weeks, I want our full focus and support to be on our student-athletes and the pending bowl game we have all anxiously awaited,” Alger said. “Given our long track record of success, we are confident that the coaching job at JMU will be a highly coveted position, and that we will attract a very strong national pool of candidates.”

Cignetti said he hopes to lead the Indiana program forward “and change the culture, mindset and expectation of Hoosier football.”

He and his teams have earned numerous honors and accolades throughout his 41-year coaching career. Cignetti was named a Eddie Robinson Award finalist in 2019. His 27 years as an assistant coach included a spot on Nick Saban’s first coaching staff at Alabama, serving as a wide receivers and recruiting coordinator from 2007 to 2010. Saban coached under Cignetti’s father, Frank before later employing Curt.

Cignetti’s coaching experience

• James Madison University: head coach (2019-2023)

• Elon University: head coach (2017-2018)

• Indiana University of Pennsylvania: head coach (2011-16)

• University of Alabama: recruiting coordinator/wide receivers (2007-2010)

• N.C. State University: recruiting coordinator/quarterbacks/tight ends (2000-2006)

• University of Pittsburgh: quarterbacks/tight ends (1993-1999)

• Temple University: quarterbacks (1989-1992)

• Rice University: quarterbacks (1986-1988)

• Davidson College: quarterbacks/wide receivers (1985)

• University of Pittsburgh: graduate assistant (1983-1984)

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