JMU football coach Cignetti hired by Big Ten’s Indiana

By Jerry Ratcliffe

JMU football coach Curt Cignetti, who led the Dukes’ transition from an FCS to FBS program, has been named head coach at Indiana.

He replaces Tom Allen, who was fired this week after a 3-9 finish. Allen posted a 33-49 record with the Hoosiers in seven seasons. Meanwhile, Cignetti was 52-9 in five seasons at JMU and 119-35 for his career, which includes 13 winning seasons as a head coach. He has never had a losing season.

“I want to thank Curt Cignetti for his dedication and commitment to excellence as head football coach at James Madison,” said JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne in a press release Thursday afternoon. “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.”

Bourne said the athletic department offered Cignetti a new contract last week in an effort to keep him, a deal that would have made Cignetti the highest-paid coach in the Sun Belt Conference. The contract also would have added large salary increases for his staff.

Cignetti’s base salary at JMU was reported at approximately $548,000, middle of the pack for Sun Belt head coaches. He also received performance-based bonuses. His salary at Indiana will jump significantly.

Allen was paid $4.5 million annually by the Hoosiers.