Curt Cignetti Dedicates National Title Win to Late Father, Former WVU Coach

Former WVU quarterback Curt Cignetti is on top of the college football world. And fresh off finishing off one of the greatest turn around stories in sports history, Cignetti took some time to say a few words about his father, former WVU head coach Frank Cignetti Sr.

When asked about his dad after Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami (FL) in the College Football Playoff’s National Championship Game, Cignetti reflected on his career and his dad’s impact on him.

“I thought about him after the game when I stuck my two fingers in the air, and then the Big Ten network asked me about him. And I said, ‘Oh, you’re wanting me to get all choked up, right?’ When we went from FCS to FBS in the Sun Belt, our first game, he was in a coma. We beat that FBS team 48-10 in the opener. My family told me that they told him in the hospital that we won 48-10, and they said he smiled. Then we had a great win against Appalachian State the week after he died down there after they beat (Texas) A&M. We were down 28-3 in the second quarter and came back and won. So, hopefully he was watching today. He was a great role model. I was very blessed to have a father like that.”

There’s no doubt the now national championship winning head coach did make his dad proud.

What Curt Cignetti accomplished in just two years at a program like Indiana is nothing short of remarkable. When hired, the Hoosiers owned the distinction as having the most losses in college football history. However, in just two short years, they now have 27 more wins (a record over that timeframe), two College Football Playoff appearances, a Big Ten title (the first since 1967), double the bowl wins as the school owned in its entire pre-Cignetti history, and of course, a national championship.

And while WVU fans may wonder what could’ve been if Neal Brown was fired a year earlier, it’s important to note it’s unlikely Cignetti would’ve been receptive to West Virginia even if the job was open.

Not only did WVU not have the finical means at that time to even reach what Indiana has invested, but Cignetti harbors some resentment for how his father was treated during his tenure as leader of the Mountaineers.

Frank Cignetti took over for Bobby Bowden ahead of the 1976 season. Bowden’s 1975 WVU team won nine games and the Peach Bowl, but Cignetti only managed a 17-27 record in his four seasons at the helm, a period that included arguably the worst season in West Virginia history – a 2-9 campaign in 1978.

But as WVU historian and Senior Director of Athletic Content John Antonik detailed in a recent story, Frank Cignetti’s win-loss record doesn’t tell the whole story about his time in Morgantown.