Curt Cignetti’s daughter steals the spotlight with viral text exchange after CFP title game

Curt Cignetti’s daughter steals the spotlight with viral text exchange after CFP title game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Curt Cignetti has done something many coaches dream of doing over the course of a career — and especially during a tenure at a place like Indiana. To go from a longtime assistant to a lower-division head coach and then land your first major opportunity in the Big Ten, many would be thrilled just to post a winning season.

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However, “Championship Curt” wasn’t satisfied. At least not until Monday night.

Cignetti took a program long regarded as a Big Ten basement dweller and shocked the college football world. It didn’t require an influx of five-star recruits, but rather a roster that fully bought into the culture and put the sport on notice.

This wasn’t Cignetti’s first stop, but it was his greatest transformation yet. He turned a College Football Playoff loss a year ago into a national championship one season later — a leap few coaches ever make.

So, is he happy now?

According to his daughter, Natalie, maybe. She won the internet by sharing a screenshot of a text exchange with her dad after the game, referencing a previous post where she joked about his lack of satisfaction after winning a playoff game at James Madison and finishing 12-1.