THE IUP Football Thread

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It was the worst period of time over my lifetime following IUP football. Tepper was a shadow of his best self by the time he got here and I don’t think I can agree that he was the right guy. I’m sure he wasn’t the only coach that could have cleaned up some messes within the program. I think Atwater was a little enamored with the resume and thought he might be able to squeeze a little more out of it. All that said, hiring is always a gamble and I don’t necessarily fault the decision at the time. It didn’t work out though and I really hate to give Tepper credit for much at all as it relates to his time at IUP.

Correct. The Tepper Era was a total disaster.

[IUPNation]

It was the worst period of time over my lifetime following IUP football. Tepper was a shadow of his best self by the time he got here and I don’t think I can agree that he was the right guy. I’m sure he wasn’t the only coach that could have cleaned up some messes within the program. I think Atwater was a little enamored with the resume and thought he might be able to squeeze a little more out of it. All that said, hiring is always a gamble and I don’t necessarily fault the decision at the time. It didn’t work out though and I really hate to give Tepper credit for much at all as it relates to his time at IUP.

He produced the only losing season in the last 40 years.

How many schools can say they have had one losing season in 4 decades?

[EyeoftheHawk]

Yeah but its fair to say that Tepper was the right guy for his moment, too. Cignetti was clearly fading and the community's willingness to forgive player misbehavior was almost bottomed out. Tep was the reigning PSAC West COY and had a reputation for cleaning up programs. He was just a little antiquated and stuck in his ways.

It was the worst period of time over my lifetime following IUP football. Tepper was a shadow of his best self by the time he got here and I don’t think I can agree that he was the right guy. I’m sure he wasn’t the only coach that could have cleaned up some messes within the program. I think Atwater was a little enamored with the resume and thought he might be able to squeeze a little more out of it. All that said, hiring is always a gamble and I don’t necessarily fault the decision at the time. It didn’t work out though and I really hate to give Tepper credit for much at all as it relates to his time at IUP.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I crossed paths for a very brief time with Rogish. For the life of me I don't get what the IUP hoopla was with him. He seemed completely lost coaching within Shepherd's defensive scheme and quickly lost respect of the players once they realized they knew more about the scheme than their coach did. Just was not impressed at all with him and I'd say IUP dodged a major bullet not succumbing to any pressure to higher him as the HC during that time frame.

There was never any hoopla about Rogish. If there was, he would have gotten the job. He was just a guy already on the staff that was interested in the job. When he didn’t, he moved on, which often happened with internal candidates whose feeling get hurt.

[IUPNation]

Yeah but its fair to say that Tepper was the right guy for his moment, too. Cignetti was clearly fading and the community's willingness to forgive player misbehavior was almost bottomed out. Tep was the reigning PSAC West COY and had a reputation for cleaning up programs. He was just a little antiquated and stuck in his ways.

Ok. Then he was handed a Ferrari and then drove it in the fast lane at 25 mph with the left turn signal blinking.

:-)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Yeah but its fair to say that Tepper was the right guy for his moment, too. Cignetti was clearly fading and the community's willingness to forgive player misbehavior was almost bottomed out. Tep was the reigning PSAC West COY and had a reputation for cleaning up programs. He was just a little antiquated and stuck in his ways.

Tony Atwater (then IUP President) hired Lou Tepper and Joe Lombardi.

Both were tasked with cleaning up programs.

[Fightingscot82]

Nice post!

You didn't miss a thing during The Lou Tepper years. It was like watching an older Ferrari that was running great rust quickly...

Yeah but its fair to say that Tepper was the right guy for his moment, too. Cignetti was clearly fading and the community's willingness to forgive player misbehavior was almost bottomed out. Tep was the reigning PSAC West COY and had a reputation for cleaning up programs. He was just a little antiquated and stuck in his ways.

[IUPNation]

I'll bite on this conversation. July 6 and not much else to discuss.

Many factors for each in my opinion. Curt was the right man at the right time for IUP. And I'm saying that as someone who never experienced Lou Tepper. Curt's first year was my freshman year. All that said, his best team was by and large that 2012 team. And that team was recruited mostly by Tepper. Similarly, Tort's best team was the 2017 team, recruited almost exclusively by Curt. I almost want to simply throw both of those seasons out the window in comparison because often times teams just need a different voice. I knew guys on the team who loved Cignetti's offensive intelligence, but hated the "Saban-like" control he had on the team. It wore on many guys at this level, where the pros of playing college football aren't exactly the same as when you are playing in Tuscaloosa.

I don't have nearly enough time sitting here typing this to compare the records against SRU and Cal, but I feel like Tort has a big edge there. As you mentioned, Curt lost some fluky games, but most of those losses were games that were on huge stages. That 2012 disaster against Cal certainly comes to mind. The 1-point loss in the monsoon against Slippery Rock is another. They beat Winston Salem in 2012 if not for a once in a lifetime Hail Mary that connected before the half. I feel like there are far less of those stores under Tort. When his teams lose, they lose. I can't think of many other than that homecoming game against SRU a few years back where you sit back and say, "Man they blew that one."

I think there's a difference in the recruiting between both. Curt was more in favor of small classes, striving for quality in lesser numbers. Tort is getting good players, but he's getting more of them too. I feel like during the Curt tenure, IUP was 3rd in the west behind SRU and Cal in terms of overall recruiting. They missed on many guys locally to their two biggest rivals, and they generally had classes much smaller in numbers, which hurt their depth as seasons progressed. I love how Tort recruits. He isn't afraid of large classes and "spreading the wealth" so to speak. That's how SRU traditionally does it, and they are very successful doing it that way. If he's able to recruit that way and give a lot of guys small cookies, it shows he's good at selling the school, program, and building relationships. It's not easy to recruit in the area where IUP is located. Declining population with a ton of schools competing for the same players. He does well all things considered.

It's tough to compare the two when you objectively evaluate it. As you mentioned, the factors are far different for each guy's tenure. I'm not sure Tort could recruit the way he does now if he was the head guy when Curt took over. That said, I'm not sure how well Curt would fair with the NIL stuff at this level. Resources are a little different at IUP compared to JMU.

I agree with the notion that IUP probably isn't where they are at now if it weren't for Curt. The greatest compliment I can give Curt is that he probably got more out of less with the teams he coached. They were really good, but in totality, he probably had less weapons to work with.

Nice post!

You didn't miss a thing during The Lou Tepper years. It was like watching an older Ferrari that was running great rust quickly...

[IUP24]

Tort has had a better run (at IUP) than Curt.

That said, Tort inherited a team ready to explode. Curt inherited a team approaching dumpster fire. So, it's not simply win-loss record when comparing.

Curt struggled under the bright lights at IUP. He lost some real flukey games but lost several nonetheless. He certainly got the train back on track. No doubt.

Tort is loaded up right now. His biggest task may be playing therapist. He's got a lot of peeps to feed. I would say this is clearly his most hyped team.

I'll bite on this conversation. July 6 and not much else to discuss.

Many factors for each in my opinion. Curt was the right man at the right time for IUP. And I'm saying that as someone who never experienced Lou Tepper. Curt's first year was my freshman year. All that said, his best team was by and large that 2012 team. And that team was recruited mostly by Tepper. Similarly, Tort's best team was the 2017 team, recruited almost exclusively by Curt. I almost want to simply throw both of those seasons out the window in comparison because often times teams just need a different voice. I knew guys on the team who loved Cignetti's offensive intelligence, but hated the "Saban-like" control he had on the team. It wore on many guys at this level, where the pros of playing college football aren't exactly the same as when you are playing in Tuscaloosa.

I don't have nearly enough time sitting here typing this to compare the records against SRU and Cal, but I feel like Tort has a big edge there. As you mentioned, Curt lost some fluky games, but most of those losses were games that were on huge stages. That 2012 disaster against Cal certainly comes to mind. The 1-point loss in the monsoon against Slippery Rock is another. They beat Winston Salem in 2012 if not for a once in a lifetime Hail Mary that connected before the half. I feel like there are far less of those stores under Tort. When his teams lose, they lose. I can't think of many other than that homecoming game against SRU a few years back where you sit back and say, "Man they blew that one."

I think there's a difference in the recruiting between both. Curt was more in favor of small classes, striving for quality in lesser numbers. Tort is getting good players, but he's getting more of them too. I feel like during the Curt tenure, IUP was 3rd in the west behind SRU and Cal in terms of overall recruiting. They missed on many guys locally to their two biggest rivals, and they generally had classes much smaller in numbers, which hurt their depth as seasons progressed. I love how Tort recruits. He isn't afraid of large classes and "spreading the wealth" so to speak. That's how SRU traditionally does it, and they are very successful doing it that way. If he's able to recruit that way and give a lot of guys small cookies, it shows he's good at selling the school, program, and building relationships. It's not easy to recruit in the area where IUP is located. Declining population with a ton of schools competing for the same players. He does well all things considered.

It's tough to compare the two when you objectively evaluate it. As you mentioned, the factors are far different for each guy's tenure. I'm not sure Tort could recruit the way he does now if he was the head guy when Curt took over. That said, I'm not sure how well Curt would fair with the NIL stuff at this level. Resources are a little different at IUP compared to JMU.

I agree with the notion that IUP probably isn't where they are at now if it weren't for Curt. The greatest compliment I can give Curt is that he probably got more out of less with the teams he coached. They were really good, but in totality, he probably had less weapons to work with.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I was guilty in thinking Curt came home to be closer to his family and his wife was also from Indiana. I thought he was doing what his dad did coming from D1 and become another big fish in D2 and bring back the glory years.

It was nice to hope.

Tort has had a better run (at IUP) than Curt.

That said, Tort inherited a team ready to explode. Curt inherited a team approaching dumpster fire. So, it's not simply win-loss record when comparing.

Curt struggled under the bright lights at IUP. He lost some real flukey games but lost several nonetheless. He certainly got the train back on track. No doubt.

Tort is loaded up right now. His biggest task may be playing therapist. He's got a lot of peeps to feed. I would say this is clearly his most hyped team.

[IUPNation]

The nice thing about being used as a stepping stone is that they can't flip your job for something better without doing good things they're able to sell. Curt used IUP to learn how to head coach...but in that time he also fixed a lot of the off campus challenges from the Tep era. It's unlikely IUP is where it is today without Curt Cignetti. Probably far less likely had they hired Felus or Rogish.

Yes..he fixed the broken rudder on the ship.

[Ram040506]

The nice thing about being used as a stepping stone is that they can't flip your job for something better without doing good things they're able to sell. Curt used IUP to learn how to head coach...but in that time he also fixed a lot of the off campus challenges from the Tep era. It's unlikely IUP is where it is today without Curt Cignetti. Probably far less likely had they hired Felus or Rogish.

I crossed paths for a very brief time with Rogish. For the life of me I don't get what the IUP hoopla was with him. He seemed completely lost coaching within Shepherd's defensive scheme and quickly lost respect of the players once they realized they knew more about the scheme than their coach did. Just was not impressed at all with him and I'd say IUP dodged a major bullet not succumbing to any pressure to higher him as the HC during that time frame.

[Fightingscot82]

I was guilty in thinking Curt came home to be closer to his family and his wife was also from Indiana. I thought he was doing what his dad did coming from D1 and become another big fish in D2 and bring back the glory years.

It was nice to hope.

The nice thing about being used as a stepping stone is that they can't flip your job for something better without doing good things they're able to sell. Curt used IUP to learn how to head coach...but in that time he also fixed a lot of the off campus challenges from the Tep era. It's unlikely IUP is where it is today without Curt Cignetti. Probably far less likely had they hired Felus or Rogish.

[IUPNation]

Agree with both.

I think most close to the program could recognize Curt wasn't going to be around very long. And within the context of the conversation, that's okay. Both got what they wanted out of the marriage. IUP wanted a shot of life and resurgence after the Tepper era. Curt needed an opportunity somewhere to show he could be a head coach after years as a successful well-traveled assistant at multiple big name schools.

Regarding Tort... I don't see it at all. He's been at the D2 level for far too long at this point. I never even heard him "linked" to an FCS job, which makes me think that rumor is shaky at best. Reality with Tort is that he probably just hasn't had enough success (please don't shoot me for saying that) at this level to make major waves with higher profile opportunities at a higher level. Had he followed up 2017 with trips to the SR1 Championship or National Semifinal the next two seasons in 2018 and 2019, then yeah, he'd be getting some buzz. But that's not happened. He's a really, really good coach at this level. And he's had very good success at IUP since taking over for Curt. He's mostly always had them legitimately as one of the 2-3 best teams in the PSAC and in contention for the playoffs. As a fan and program, that's what you want.

I was guilty in thinking Curt came home to be closer to his family and his wife was also from Indiana. I thought he was doing what his dad did coming from D1 and become another big fish in D2 and bring back the glory years.

It was nice to hope.

[IUPNation]

There’s a 0% chance of this.

Yeah I don't see him leaving. He's in a pretty good lane for himself.