Kurt Cignetti’s smile spoke louder than a thousand words after Indiana won a landmark national championship Monday night.
But his one-word response to a text he sent to his daughter Natalie was also telling.
“YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Kurt said in response to Natalie asking her father if the Indians were happy after the Indians defeated the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium and completed their storybook 16-0 season.
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The answer may sound obvious, but the question feels necessary, especially to Natalie, who asked the same question in December 2019, just over six years ago.
At the time, Cote was in his first season as head coach at James Madison. Duke is still an FCS program, and a very good one at that. Their 66-21 victory over Monmouth was Curt’s first win in the Division I playoffs. JMU is 12-1.
Natalie texted Curt “Are you happy!!!”
“No,” he said.
Duke lost to North Dakota State in the FCS National Championship that season.
Curt Cignetti then helped JMU make a seamless transition to the FBS and immediately transformed its football program into a Sun Belt power. In 2024, he takes over an Indiana team that has not won a bowl game since the 1991 season and has never won more than nine games in a season. He compiled a 27-2 record in his first two years coaching the Big Ten’s newest juggernaut.
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He came in with bravado and matched it to the standard he held his tight-knit staff and coaching staff accountable to, even when the fall spotlight suddenly shone on Bloomington.
Cignetti has become a household name. Through two College Football Playoff appearances and a slew of program firsts, he hasn’t changed his demeanor. Regardless of the outcome, he remained steady on the sidelines and looked focused most of the time.
He explained why during this season’s CFP game, followed by a 56-22 victory over Oregon State in the Peach Bowl CFP semifinals.
“I’m a firm believer that you’re going to get better, you’re going to get worse, you’re never going to stay the same. So you’ve got to keep that edge going,” Signetti said before pointing out something.
“I mean, a lot of the time I’m happy. I just don’t show that I’m happy. If I’m going to have my guys play the first game, the first 150, no matter what the game situation is, then I’m not going to be high-fiving on the sidelines, otherwise what’s going to happen? What’s the effect going to be? So that’s why I’m like I’m in the game.”
He continued: “Also, I have to make important decisions to manage the game: in terms of game management, we have to make these decisions – when to use a timeout, when not to use a timeout, whether to be aggressive within two minutes… So you have to think ahead. Later I will smile and celebrate with the coaches in the coaching room and maybe have a beer.”
Cignetti did smile on Monday after his Indians defeated Miami 27-21 and officially became the favorite to win the national title since at least 2001. Later he had a beer, which he called the best beer of his life.
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If that wasn’t enough proof of his happiness, his text message to his daughter Natalie, which included 14 exclamation points, was the icing on the cake.
