Former James Madison football head coach Curt Cignetti has had quite the day. He was recently named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and earned a nice $20,000 bonus. Then, he was officially announced as the new head coach for Indiana after they fired Tom Allen earlier in the week.

Shortly after the Indiana news dropped, Cignetti released a lengthy statement thanking James Madison for the opportunity and opening up on making the move to the Big Ten Conference (h/t Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic).

“…I had total intentions and plans to retire here. I had a great job. The university really upped their commitment and did everything possible to keep me and the staff here. They couldn’t have done any more than they did…I will miss JMU and have nothing but fond memories, and I know the history is great here and the people are even better. Go Dukes!”

The James Madison football team is headed for a bowl game after an 11-1 season and having their eligibility cleared despite making the jump from FCS to the FBS. The good news for Dukes fans is that Cignetti will coach James Madison for the bowl game, as Chris Vannini of The Athletic reports. Vannini also mentions that James Madison offered Cignetti a contract but the Indiana job was simply too good to pass up.

‘Curt Cignetti plans to coach JMU in its bowl game, source tells @TheAthletic. Before he'd taken head coaching interviews, JMU offered Cignetti a contract that would have made him the highest paid coach in the Sun Belt, with increases in assistant pool.' 

The James Madison team has taken the nation by storm, and now Cignetti heads to try to revamp the Indiana Hoosiers.