Indiana's Curt Cignetti is finally happy. His daughter has the text receipts to prove it
- - Indiana's Curt Cignetti is finally happy. His daughter has the text receipts to prove it
Andy Backstrom January 21, 2026 at 4:14 AM
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Curt Cignetti's smile was worth a thousand words after Indiana won a monumental national championship Monday night.
But the one-word answer he texted his daughter Natalie was pretty telling, too.
Since everyone is wondering… Yes‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ https://t.co/THqh7Ah3cV pic.twitter.com/rklLOdpbRG
— natalie cignetti (@nataliecignetti) January 20, 2026
"Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Curt said in response to Natalie asking her dad if he's happy in the wake of the Hoosiers defeating the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium and completing their storybook, 16-0 season.
The answer might sound obvious, but the question felt necessary, especially for Natalie, who asked the same one in December 2019, a bit more than six years earlier.
At the time, Curt was in his first season as James Madison's head coach. The Dukes were still an FCS program, and a mighty good one at that. They were coming off a 66-21 win over Monmouth, Curt's first Division I playoff victory. JMU was 12-1.
Natalie texted Curt "are you happy!!!"
"No," he said.
The Dukes fell to North Dakota State in the FCS national championship that season.
Curt Cignetti went on to help JMU seamlessly transition to the FBS and immediately transform its football program into a Sun Belt power. In 2024, he took over the reins at Indiana, where the Hoosiers hadn't won a bowl game since the 1991 campaign and had never won more than nine games in a single season. He's gone 27-2 in his first two years at the helm of the Big Ten's newest titan.
He came in with bravado and matched it with standards he's held his tight-knit teams and coaching staffs accountable to, even with the spotlight suddenly shining on Bloomington in the fall.
Cignetti has become a household name. Through his two College Football Playoff appearances and array of program firsts, he hasn't changed his demeanor. He's still steady on the sideline, most often showcasing a concentrated face, regardless of outcome.
He explained why during this season's CFP run, ahead of a 56-22 Peach Bowl CFP semifinal win over Oregon.
He may not always look happy on the sidelines, but we promise @IndianaFootball's Curt Cignetti is smiling on the inside 😆 pic.twitter.com/4NzVlniEoQ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 8, 2026
"I do firmly believe you get better, you get worse, you never stay the same. So you got to keep that edge," Cignetti said before pointing something out.
"I mean, there's a lot of times I am happy. I just don't show I'm happy. And if I'm going to ask my players to play the first game, first play to play 150 the same, regardless of the competitive circumstances, then I can't be seen on the sideline high-fiving people and celebrating, or what's going to happen? What's the effect going to be? So that's why I am like I am in the game."
He continued: "Plus, I got to make important decisions to manage the game: these decisions we have to make, in terms of game management — when to use timeout, when not to use timeout, whether to be aggressive in two-minute. ... So you got to be dialed in and thinking ahead. I'll smile and celebrate later in the coaches' room with the coaches, maybe have a beer."
Cignetti did smile after his Hoosiers held on to beat Miami 27-21 Monday and officially became the biggest long-shot national champions since at least 2001. He later enjoyed a beer, which he called the best in his life.
If that wasn't enough evidence of his happiness, his text to his daughter Natalie, 14 exclamation points and all, is the cherry on top.
Source: “AOL Sports”
