IUP’s Matt Burglund is not surprised at Curt Cignetti’s success with the Hoosiers

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Matt interviewing Curt Cignetti at IUP

“No, I am not surprised he is where he is.”

Curt Cignetti’s trek to the pinnacle of college football could not exactly be called a Horatio Alger story. In reality, though, many people had never heard of Curt Cignetti before he was hired as the head football at Indiana University two years ago. 

Matt Burglund knew Coach Cignetti very well a few years ago as he has covered IUP football for 28 years. He is today, and was then, confident that the man he interviewed many times was likely to turn things around for the Hoosiers, who may win the school’s first NCAA football national championship tonight. 

While not Horatio Alger, this appears to be a rags to riches narrative. 

Cignetti was 62 years old when he was hired as head coach at Indiana-Bloomington in 2023, his first big-time Div. I head coaching job. However, he started his head coaching at his father’s alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where his father built a tremendous Div. II program. 

However, what was surprising when IUP was seeking a new coach in 2010 was that Curt was interested in the job. 

He appeared to be on a top Div. I trajectory.  After all, he was an assistant coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide, which had won the national title in 2009, when he decided to take a Div. II job.

And it started with a surreptitious interview in a car near the Tuscaloosa campus in Alabama. 

Matt’s recollection 

Matt Burgland now works as a senior writer in the IUP Office of Marketing and Communications, but he worked for the Indiana Gazette newspaper until a few years ago. 

As such, he covered IUP football for decades, and he explained how the now highly-regarded coach applied for the coaching job at IUP when he was a highly paid wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator under the renowned Nick Saban at Alabama,

The way I remember it, Frank Condino, the A.D. at IUP at the time, had Curt in mind from the time that (previous coach) Lou Tepper was fired. He had coached with (Curt’s father, Frank) at IUP and he and Curt stayed in touch over the years. Frank went down to Alabama for the D2 championship game, and he met with Curt, I was told, in a parking lot because Curt didn’t want anyone seeing him meeting with an AD. 

At first, Curt was not interested in the IUP job. But a few weeks later, he had changed his mind and called Condino to ask if he could still be considered. 

Curt had interviewed for some Division I head coaching jobs but did not get them. I don't think that he had a lot more to accomplish (at Alabama) and he had apparently been overlooked when the O.C. (offensive coordinator) job had come open there before. He was ready to be a head coach and needed an opportunity. 

Interview with Matt Burglund, January 2026

The IUP program was in disarray at that time, an absolute mess. However, Matt saw the promise in Curt Cignetti from the first year that he coached. He recorded a 53-17 record over six years and earned spots in the national Division II playoffs on three occasions. 

He left a significant imprint on IUP,

The thing that I remember about his success is that he said immediately, “I have the blueprint.” He was insanely sharp and unbelievably smart and paid attention to every detail. At Alabama, he watched everything that Saban did, paying attention to every little detail. So, when he came here, he had the blueprint and knew what he had to do to win. 

Matt Burglund

Changing the Mindset

One of the major challenges that every coach who inherits a program that has not been successful has to do is change the thinking of the players. Cignetti had to do that at IUP, and obviously, he has done that with these Hoosiers,

He really had to turn around the mindset of players at IUP just like he has done at Indiana. This was very evident very early. He changed the kind of practices, having just an hour when they had long practices under Tepper. They were also very physical, and he like to talk about breaking the will of the opponents. His teams just wore down other teams. By the third quarter, teams quit. I see that type of play now with Indiana. 

Matt Burglund 

Elon and James Madison and Hoosiers

After six years at IUP, he spent two more at Elon and built them into a winner before going to James Madison, where he also had tremendous success. 

However, Matt knew that Curt had a school like Indiana on his radar. 

I don’t think he wanted to go to a school that had a winning tradition.  He wanted to build something with his blueprint, which is why Indiana was right for him. They had some strong institutional assets, like the largest alumni base in America. They have a Big 10 TV contract, and some great financial assets like with Mark Cuban. 

Matt Burglund

Conclusion

The race to the College Football Championship game has been one that has fascinated those who follow the game. However, the bottom line is this: Curt Cignetti has made the move with a blueprint, as Matt indicated. He became part of a national champion as an assistant to Nick Saban at Alabama, but he wanted more. 

The move to IUP was instrumental in that process, but it took humility for him to move from a Div I job to a Div. II one. However, that was part of the blueprint, which included not just game plans but career plans.

It has been a fascinating narrative and we will see a major chapter tonight. .