LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — IUP football has nine individuals honored on the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) College Football 150 list.
In recognition of College Football's sesquicentennial season, the PSAC is proud to recognize a group of individuals who have been distinguished as the PSAC's 150 Contributors.
With various league and on-campus celebrations planned for the upcoming season, nominees were comprised of representatives from each current member institution. Those in consideration were identified by each institution as individuals who had made significant contributions to college football.
To determine the formation of the final 150, guidelines were put in place to have representation from each submitting institution. A committee comprised of seven former sports information directors then made selections to finalize the PSAC's 150 Contributors.
The PSAC is honored to present this group as representatives of the countless student-athletes, coaches, administrators and other contributors to the 150 years of college football.
The nine former IUP standouts included on the list were Frank Cignetti Sr. (coach, player), Chuck Klausing (coach), Jim Haslett (player), Jai Hill (player), Michael Mann (player), Dave Smith (player), Chris Villarrial (player), Jack Benedict (contributor) and Dan Radakovich (contributor).
The College Football 150th Anniversary is a non-profit corporation formed to plan and administer a national celebration of 150 seasons of collegiate football. The commemoration will showcase the rich history and traditions of the sport and its contribution to American society and culture, while also promoting the opportunity it continues to provide to thousands of student-athletes across all levels of the sport.
Below are the biographies of the nine IUP individuals who have contributed to the PSAC's rich football history.
Jack Benedict, contributor
1962-present
Benedict broadcasted his first IUP football game in 1969 and has since become the "Voice of IUP Sports." Benedict celebrated his 50th season of broadcasting IUP football in 2018. Throughout his 50 seasons, he has seen the Indians/Crimson Hawks claim 18 of their 21 PSAC West Division titles, four PSAC Championships, 18 NCAA playoff appearances, including seven NCAA semifinal berths and two national championship appearances.
Benedict is the Renda Broadcasting Sports Director in Indiana, Pa., and has been in broadcasting for 59 years. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2017.
Frank Cignetti, player/coach
1957-59 | 1986-2005
The most successful coach in IUP history, Cignetti has an all-time record of 182-50-1. During his 20-year-tenure, IUP earned 13 NCAA playoff appearances and was ranked in the top-20 for 19 of his seasons. He led the team to undefeated seasons in 1991 and 1993, and earned the Chevrolet Division II National Coach of the Year in 1991. He was also named the PSAC West Coach of the Year five times and the Kodak College Division Regional Coach three times.
Before his successful coaching career, Cignetti excelled on the field as a player at IUP from 1957-59. His football credentials as an offensive end at what was then Indiana State Teachers College are topped by a 1959 NAIA All-American honor, the first for any player in IUP history, and inclusion on an "All-Time" (1927-60) ISTC grid team picked by sportswriters. He was team MVP in 1958 and 1959.
Prior to returning to his alma mater as a coach, Cignetti had coaching tints at the University of Pittsburgh and Princeton. In 1970, he was the offensive coordinator for Bobby Bowden at West Virginia University.
When Bowden moved to the University of Florida, he became head coach of the Mountaineers in 1976. While his four-year record at WVU was not winning, he was credited with building a stability in recruiting and academic-related concerns that has had a great deal to do with West Virginia's success to this day.
Cignetti was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013 and was the third-winningest active coach in Division II football at the time of his retirement in 2005.
Jim Haslett, player
1975-78
Haslett was the first and one of only three IUP players to have his uniform number (86) retired, he's also the only one to play in the Blue/Gray all-star game in Montgomery, Alabama. That capped a playing career highlighted by nine All-American honors in three seasons and an ECAC Player of the Year tribute.
Haslett's 13 career fumble recoveries in I975-78 remains the IUP record. His four-year record of 35 quarterback sacks was bettered by one, but his single-season all-time high of 20 in 1976 is still in place. His career total 412 tackles stand third in the IUP record book.
All this is only a preface to what Haslett has achieved since '79, when he was drafted by the National Football League Buffalo Bills in the second round; no other IUP player has ever gone that high.
In his first NFL campaign, he was voted the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year, and in 1980 he was named to the All-AFC first team. He was later tabbed for the Bill all franchise as the team celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Haslett endured a 26-year coaching career between college and the NFL. He earned the 2000 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year as the Head Coach for the New Orleans Saints.
Jai Hill, player
1988-91
One of the most decorated athletes in IUP history, Hill was a part of teams that went a combined 43-8, including an appearance in the NCAA Division II national championship game in 1990 and a No. 1 national ranking in 1991.
A four-year letterman, Hill was a two-time All-American and was named a Harlon Hill Finalist (best player in Division II) in 1990.
Even though he graduated nearly 30 years ago, Hill still sits atop IUP's record books in career receptions (214), receiving yards (4,073) and touchdowns (41), along with yards and touchdowns in a season (1,183; 20 - 1990). A four-time All-PSAC first team selection, Hill signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1992 before a nine-year career in the Canadian Football and Arena Football Leagues.
Chuck Klausing, coach
1964-69
Klausing coached the then Indians from 1964-69, tallying an impressive 47-10 and .825 winning percentage in six seasons.
His biggest highlight on the IUP sidelines came in 1968, guiding the Indians to the program's first postseason berth – the Boardwalk Bowl against Delaware in Atlantic City. He never lost more than three games in a single season at IUP and posted a combined 25-3 record over his final three seasons at the helm.
Following his tenure at IUP, he coached football at West Virginia (associated head coach), Carnegie Mellon (head coach), and the University of Pittsburgh (associated head coach). Klausing finished up his full-time coaching career as the coach of the Kiski School in Saltsburg.
The great Klausing was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Hall of Fame in 2008, among others.
Klausing passed away in 2018 at age 92.
Michael Mann, player
1990-93
Mann's place in the IUP record book makes him without question one of the best football players in school history. He is IUP's all-time leading rusher with 4,805 yards nearly 500 more than anyone else.
He holds four other career records including rushing touchdowns (48), total touchdowns (52) scoring (312) and rushing attempts (849).
Mann, a native of Miami, Fla., capped his stellar career in 1993 when he garnered All-America honors with a school-record 2,027 yards. His 4,805 career yards are the third most of any PSAC running back.
Dan Radakovich, contributor
1977-80, 1985-present
Radakovich is a 1980 graduate of Indiana (Pa.), where he was a football letterman and student coach with the Crimson Hawk program. He was enshrined into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and was recognized as a distinguished alumnus from Indiana (Pa.)
Named the 13th director of athletics in Clemson history on Dec. 1, 2012, Radakovich has continuously led the Tiger athletic department to high achievements both on the field and in the classroom while developing significant upgrades in finance and facilities.
Radakovich has seen Clemson rise as a national football power, winning two College Football National Championships in 2016 and 2018. His administrative career spans over 26 years and he was named the Sports Business Daily's Athletic Director of the Year in 2017 at the Sports Business Awards.
Dave Smith, player
1967-69
Smith was the first IUP graduate to be drafted in the annual National Football League (NFL) player selection.
That came in the eighth round in 1970, by the Pittsburgh Steelers and resulted in his playing two seasons as a wide receiver, followed by stints with the Houston Oilers and Kansas City Chiefs through 1974.
He is the only player in team history to fly directly from catching a 62-yard touchdown pass in the 1968 Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City, where IUP came very close to upsetting heavily favored Delaware, to suit up for a college basketball game, as he did for IUP's 87-69 win at then-rival Geneva that same night.
That was certainly a highlight of Smith's first year at IUP, after he had transferred from Waynesburg College, as was his selection as an AP/Associated Press All-American.
Chris Villarrial, player
1992-95
Villarrial stands as one of the best players in the rich tradition of the IUP football program. A dominant offensive lineman who was a part of 39 wins in four seasons under head coach Frank Cignetti, he is one of only three IUP players to have his number retired.
No. 75 was a three-time All-American and three-time All-PSAC West selection at guard. He helped IUP to two NCAA playoff appearances, including a trip to the Division II championship game in 1993. Villarrial blocked for running back Michael Mann, who owns IUP's single season rushing mark of 2,027 yards. He also received the Jim Langer Award for Best Lineman in Division II in 1996.
After his time at IUP, Villarrial was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played eight seasons for the Bears, earning All-Pro honors twice, before moving on to the Buffalo Bills in 2004 as a free agent, finishing his professional playing career with 148 starts. In 11 NFL seasons, he blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher each year and was a member of a Bills' line that gave up the fewest sacks in franchise history.
