Long-time Clarion U. Athletic Director Frank Lignelli Passes Away

CLARION, Pa. – Long-time Clarion University Athletic Director Frank Lignelli passed away Sunday, September 1. He was 94.

(Photo of Ligenlli playing golf at the Clarion University Wrestling Golf outing in August 2015. Photo courtesy of Rich Herman)

Lignelli came to Clarion as a student-athlete in 1946 and really never left graduating from Clarion State College in 1950 and returning to the school as a teacher and coach in 1957. He then served as Athletic Director from 1966-86 and again from 1987 through 1990 before retiring. He is a member of the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame having been inducted in 1993.

“We were deeply saddened to learn that Frank Lignelli has passed away,” said Wendy Snodgrass, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Clarion said. “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, Lignelli 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 State instead, and the long-time love affair between Lignelli and Clarion began.

As an athlete, Lignelli earned 11 varsity letters, including four in wrestling and football and three in baseball. A center and linebacker, Lignelli 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, Lignelli 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.

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.

Services for Mr. Lignelli will be held on Friday, September 6 at the First United Methodist Church in Clarion, with funeral arrangements made through Goble Funeral Home in Clarion. Viewing information and a full obituary should be available Monday.