By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
There have been numerous references to Elon’s football program through the College Football Playoff and that’s because of former coach Curt Cignetti.
He’s leading Indiana (15-2) into the national championship game against Miami (13-2) on Monday night in Miami.
Cignetti, who’s 26-2 in two seasons with the Hoosiers, spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons at Elon, directing both teams into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Then he went to James Madison, where his team faced the Phoenix.
Cignetti’s coaching past has been well-documented during Indiana’s historic season. There are other ties to Elon.
Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan are former Elon staffers. Shanahan coached receivers for Elon, with sports business analyst Darren Rovell reporting recently that the assistant coach, who’s in line to make $1.7 million next season with Indiana, began at $8,000 with Elon in 2017.
Former Elon offensive lineman Alex Higgins, who also became an undergraduate assistant with the Phoenix, is Indiana’s quality control coach for offensive linemen and tight ends.
The CFP title game also has heightened interest for Elon athletics director Jenn Strawley for other reasons. She has ties to the Miami football program.
Prior to coming to Elon in the summer of 2023, she was senior deputy athletics director at Miami, where she was the football administrator. She said she has been pulling for the Hurricanes through the playoffs.
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