IU football coach Curt Cignetti disputed a former player’s assertion that he’s never happy, drawing chuckles from reporters Thursday at a Peach Bowl news conference.
“No, that's not right," Cignetti said. "I mean, there's a lot of times I am happy. I just don't show I'm happy.”
Cignetti has become well known for his scowl on the sideline with his hands on his hips. He often looks that way even when the undefeated Hoosiers have a game well in hand.
Cignetti said there’s a reason for that.
"If I'm going to ask my players right to play the first game, first play, to play 150 the same, regardless of competitive circumstances, then I can't be seen on the sideline – right? -- high fiving people and celebrating," Cignetti said.
The Hoosiers face Oregon in a national semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Atlanta. The winner goes to Miami for the national championship game Jan. 19 against the winner of Thursday's Miami-Mississippi game.
The news conference with Oregon coach Dan Lanning was at the College Football Hall of Fame. Cignetti's late father, Frank, a former coach, was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2013.
Frank Cignetti had a 199-77-1 record as coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He went to the national title game twice.
Curt Cignetti had never been to the Hall of Fame before Thursday. He had to miss his father's induction.
"I was the only family member that couldn't make the ceremony," Cignetti said. "And my wife told me this morning that actually her and the kids had gone, but I couldn't go. We were in fall camp at IUP, and I wasn't going to miss practice."
Until recently, IU didn't have much of a football history to celebrate. Hall of Famers from the school include running backs Anthony Thompson, who finished second in voting for the 1989 Heisman Trophy, and George Taliaferro, who became the first Black player drafted by the NFL when he was selected by the Chicago Bears in 1949.
Yeoman Brown, Vice President of Marketing at the Hall of Fame, said IU's success in the playoffs brings a new energy to the museum.
"For us, Indiana being in the playoffs means a whole new legion of fans,” Brown said. “Atlanta is a melting pot with so many Indiana alumni, and this gives them a reason to come out, reconnect, and experience the Hall of Fame in a new way."
