From NC State Assistant to National Champion: Curt Cignetti’s Incredible Rise

Former NC State assistant coach Curt Cignetti led Indiana to its first National Championship on Monday night, defeating Miami 27-21.

The Hoosiers made history, becoming only the second team in college football history to finish 16-0, joining Yale’s 1894 squad.

Cignetti’s journey to the top of the sport includes a meaningful stop in Raleigh.

Chuck Amato hired Cignetti in 2000 to serve as NC State’s Tight Ends Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. In 2003, he moved to quarterbacks coach and helped guide NC State legend Philip Rivers to the best season by a quarterback in ACC history at the time. Rivers went on to win ACC Player of the Year honors in his senior season.

A former quarterback himself at West Virginia, Cignetti played a key role in developing one of the greatest players in NC State history.

After seven seasons in Raleigh, Cignetti joined Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama from 2007-2010, coaching wide receivers. In 2009, he earned his first national championship ring as the Crimson Tide defeated Texas 37–21 in the BCS National Championship Game.

In 2011, Cignetti began his head coaching career at the Division II level, taking over at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Over six seasons, he compiled a 53-17 record.

He then moved to Elon in 2017, where he led the Phoenix to a 14-9 record across two seasons before taking over at James Madison in 2019.

At JMU, Cignetti built a powerhouse. In five seasons, he posted a 52-9 overall record and a 31-4 conference mark. The Dukes reached the FCS semifinals three times and played for a national title in 2019. When James Madison transitioned to the FBS in 2022, the program would have qualified for the Sun Belt Championship in both 2022 and 2023, but NCAA transition rules prevented them from participating.

That success earned him the head coaching job at Indiana in 2024.

Coming off a 3-9 season the year prior, Cignetti led the Hoosiers to an 11-2 record in his first year, including a College Football Playoff appearance. Indiana finished the season ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll – their highest finish since 1967.

And now, just one year later, Cignetti has taken Indiana all the way to the top.

Despite not having a roster filled with blue-chip recruits, the Hoosiers found a way. Indiana entered the season ranked 20th in the AP Preseason Poll. The roster ranked just 72nd nationally in 247Sports’ Team Talent Composite. For comparison, NC State’s roster ranked 45th.

There were no former five-star recruits on the roster and only four former four-star players.

Still, Indiana won it all.

Yes, Mark Cuban — an Indiana alum — contributed NIL support, but this was far from a star-powered roster. It was a team built on development, culture, and belief.

Cignetti’s story is a reminder that with the right coach, the right culture, the right buy-in, and the right infrastructure, anything is possible.