Clarion University and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is saddened to acknowledge the passing of Frank Lignelli.  As a student-athlete, coach and athletic director, he can truly be called the person responsible for Clarion's outstanding athletic tradition, and was the catalyst for the Golden Eagles' greatest successes for more than six decades.  He was inducted into the Clarion Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.
 
Visitation for Mr. Lignelli will be held on Thursday, September 5 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at Gobles Funeral Home in Clarion.  The funeral will be held on Friday, September 6 at the First United Methodist Church in Clarion.

"We were deeply saddened to learn that Frank Lignelli has passed away," said Dr. Wendy Snodgrass, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.  "He devoted his life to making Clarion University a better place for all students and our especially our student-athletes, helping to give them the college experience that they deserve.  In doing so, our programs enjoyed unprecedented success, and created a legacy that we all share pride in.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Joyce, his children Joy and Lee, and all other family and friends that were touched by his life."
 
A native of Monongahela, Pa. and a 1943 graduate of Monongahela High, Frank served in the U.S. Navy 1943-46. In 1946, he decided to attend college and was accepted to Penn State. As was the custom then, Penn State asked Lignelli to attend California State for a year or two and then transfer to Penn State. His transcripts, however, were mistakenly sent to Clarion University instead, and the long-time love affair between Lignelli and Clarion began.
 
As an athlete, Frank earned 11 varsity letters, including four in wrestling and football and three in baseball. A center and linebacker, Frank was named a Little All-American in 1949, as well as first team all-conference, district, and state. He wrestled at 175 pounds and was a standout there, and led the baseball team as a senior with a .462 batting average.  After graduating from Clarion in 1950, he taught at North Versailles and Monongahela High Schools before returning to Clarion to teach and coach in 1957. An assistant football coach for the next 13 seasons, Frank restarted the wrestling program in the 1959-60 season, coached for seven seasons, and as head coach sported a 69-11-1 overall record which included the PSAC title in 1965. In 1966, he became Clarion's third athletic director, succeeding Waldo Tippin.  Lignelli was the athletic director from 1966-86, went on sabbatical leave, and then returned as A.D. from November 2, 1987, through December 31, 1990.
 
Clarion's athletic teams won 11 national championships, 59 PSAC titles, 22 PSAC runner-up finishes, 40 PSAC-West crowns, and numerous NAIA district titles with Lignelli's direction. He started and raised well over one million dollars since 1967 for the Centennial Scholarship Fund, now known as the Waldo S. Tippin Scholarship Fund. Other accomplishments include his 10-year stint as Clarion golf coach from 1976 to 1986 and a PSAC golf title in 1982, his induction into the NAIA and EWL Halls of Fame in 1987, the Western Pennsylvania "Sports Hall of Fame" in 1986, the PSAC wrestling Hall of Fame in 1984, and the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors (NACDA) Hall of Fame in 2006.