In 2013 Curt Cignetti couldn’t make his father Frank’s College Football Hall of Fame induction because he was immersed in football.
More than 12 years later Cignetti had no idea he would be inside the Hall of Fame Thursday morning for a press conference, because, you know, he was immersed in football.
Both then and now, they are the kind of moments that would fill a Hall of Fame football coach father with pride.
In 2013 Cignetti was in year three of rebuilding the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Division II program his father put on the map. In the mind of a perfectionist, and a leader, there wasn’t time for the pomp and circumstance of a Hall of Fame ceremony.
His father no doubt understood.
“I found out last night when we got to the plane — I didn’t realize that the press conference was here (at the Hall of Fame). My dad was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in ’13, and I was the only family member that couldn’t make the ceremony,” Cignetti said on Thursday. “My wife told me this morning that actually her and the kids had gone, but I couldn’t go. We were in fall camp at IUP, and I wasn’t going to miss practice.”
Cignetti’s father had a 20-year tenure from 1986 to 2005 at IUP, during which time he tallied a 182-50-1 record, and took the Hawks to 13 Division II playoffs appearances, including six trips to the national semifinals. He retired after the 2005 season as the third-winningest active coach in Division II.
On Thursday Curt Cignetti finally made it to the Hall of Fame in Atlanta, just down the street from where he’ll lead IU in the CFP semifinal against Oregon.
It only seemed fitting that the fruits of Curt’s labor in 2013 allowed him to finally see the tribute to his now late father when he was on site as part of college football’s biggest stage.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been in this building, and I did get to kind of see (where his father is honored) — and it was nice to be able to do that,” Cignetti said.
“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.
“And, you know, he — I get letters, and I read things on social media about all the people he helped at West Virginia and at IUP, helped them in their lives. And I was the oldest, so the oldest always has it the roughest. And when I was growing up, we were at West Virginia, and the pressure was a little different than when the other ones were growing up when they were at IUP.
“But I had a great upbringing. I knew in third grade I wanted to coach, and he had a lot of pearls of wisdom.
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
