Indiana football fans apparently can thank Mark Cuban, one of the school’s wealthiest alums, for playing a key part in the Hoosiers winning the College Football Playoff championship this year.
Cuban donated the remaining money Indiana needed to secure quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the billionaire and former majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks told Front Office Sports in an upcoming episode of Portfolio Players.
The exchange resulted from a conversation between Cuban, Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson and university president Pam Whitten at the school’s first-round College Football Playoff game against Notre Dame in December 2024.
“[Dolson]’s like, we’ve got this quarterback that we really, really like that we think would be great in (coach Curt Cignetti) Cig’s system, we just need a litttttle bit more,” Cuban said, per Front Office Sports. “I’m like, ‘How much is a little bit?’ And so he told me, and I’m like, ‘OK, you know, we’re on a roll, I’ll put up the money to get this quarterback.'”
Indiana lost in the first round of the 2024 playoff to Notre Dame, 27-17. One season later, the Hoosiers capped their undefeated season with a 27-21 win over Miami.
Cuban, 67, already had some connections to Cignetti as well as to Mendoza’s brother and Indiana teammate, Alberto, who as a Miami Heat fan would interact with Cuban when the Mavericks visited the Heat.
The extra money helped Indiana lure Mendoza away from Cal, where he reportedly made $1.6 million. His transfer to Indiana netted him $2.6 million, per Yahoo Sports.
Mendoza went on to win the Heisman Trophy. The Las Vegas Raiders selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft in April.
The previous philanthropic efforts of Cuban, who according to Forbes is worth $6 billion, had been focused on academics, with his recent donations to Indiana athletics his first forays into the sports side of the university.
Though his first donation was directly related to the Mendoza signing, Cuban said he lets Dolson — a fellow Indiana alum — decide what to do with the finances.
“I just give Scott money, and it’s up to him,” Cuban said. “We talk a lot, we talk about approach, understanding how to put together a team. Because I did it for 20-something years. So it’s not like I have to direct him to something specific. I understand how they’re approaching things.”
Cuban would not reveal exactly how much he has committed to Indiana athletics other than to tell Front Office Sports in a January email, “Let’s just say they are happier this year than last year.”
