Frank Cignetti, Sr.

Frank Cignetti Sr. (October 8, 1937 – September 10, 2022) 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, but lost them both. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2013.

Early life and education Cignetti was born on October 8, 1937.

Coaching career Cignetti's first coaching position was as an assistant for Leechburg High School's football team. He became Leechburg's head coach and coached them to the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Class 1A championship in 1965. From 1966 to 1968, he was an assistant with the Pittsburgh Panthers, where he coached their quarterbacks and wide receivers. He served as an offensive assistant for the Princeton Tigers in 1969 and joined Bobby Bowden's coaching staff for the West Virginia Mountaineers, coaching the offensive backfield.

Cignetti was promoted to head coach in January 1976 and led WVU for four seasons. In 1979, Cignetti was diagnosed with lymphomatoid granulomatosis, a form of cancer. He had a splenectomy and spent 35 days in the hospital. Cignetti was fired in November 1979, several days after the conclusion of WVU's regular season, but recovered from cancer.

In 1982, Cignetti became the director of athletics at IUP. He became the head coach of IUP's football team in 1986. In 1991, he was the Division II coach of the year. He retired after the 2005 season as the third-winningest active coach in Division II.

Cignetti was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Also in that year, IUP renamed its football field in honor of Cignetti.

Personal life Cignetti's parents were immigrants to the United States from Italy. He and his wife, Marlene, had four children. Curt served as the head coach at Elon University from 2016 to 2018, and in December 2018 was named the eighth head coach of James Madison University. In November 2023, Curt was named the head coach at Indiana University Bloomington, where in January 2026, he led Indiana University to their first ever National Championship.

Cignetti died on September 10, 2022.

Head coaching record

Explanatory notes