(STATS) – James Madison reached across CAA Football to name Curt Cignetti as its new coach on Friday.
It certainly impressed that Cignetti led Elon to a win at James Madison two months ago.
Success, though, has followed Cignetti throughout a 36-year career. In signing a six-year contract as the eighth coach in Dukes history, he’s been charged with keeping the level high at the FCS power.
“I respect and understand the tradition of James Madison football and the great things that have gone on here in its growth and development,” said the 57-year-old Cignetti. “We’re going to have high goals and expectations and a blueprint to become the best we can be. There will be no self-imposed limitations on what we can accomplish.”
Cignetti replaces Mike Houston, who resigned on Dec. 2 after three seasons to become East Carolina’s new coach. Under Houston, the Dukes won two CAA titles and made three appearances in the FCS playoffs, twice reaching the championship game with a 2016 title win.
Cignetti was 14-9 with consecutive playoff appearances over the past two seasons at Elon, including the 27-24 win over JMU on Oct. 6, which was the program’s first over a Top 5 opponent.
He went 67-26 with three Division II playoff appearances in six seasons at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 2011-16. He also has significant experience on the FBS level at Pittsburgh, Rice, Temple, North Carolina State and Alabama, which includes serving as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator under Nick Saban on the Crimson Tide’s undefeated 2009 national championship team.
“After a thorough and extensive search, it was the clear choice for the search committee to appoint Curt Cignetti as the next head coach at James Madison,” JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne said. “In our discussions, he impressed with both his deep knowledge of the game as well as his intel regarding the current state of our program at JMU. He has recruited some of the best to ever play the sport at the FBS level. During his head coaching stints, he brought immediate improvement to both Elon and IUP and changed the trajectory of those programs.”
Cignetti, a 1982 graduate of West Virginia, where he played quarterback, comes from a family of coaches. His father, Frank Cignetti, is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, posting a 199-77-1 record at West Virginia and IUP. Curt’s younger brother, Frank, Jr., has been in six NFL organizations, currently serving as the Green Bay Packers’ quarterbacks coach.
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