At a Glance
- Mark Cuban has pumped millions into Indiana football, including a $5 million 2015 gift and fresh NIL-era donations.
- The No. 1 Hoosiers are 15-0 and set to face Miami for the national championship on Monday.
- Fernando Mendoza has tossed 41 touchdowns and completed 31 of 36 playoff passes.
- Why it matters: A billionaire alum’s wallet-plus a Heisman QB and a coach of the year-flipped one of college football’s worst programs into a title favorite.
Indiana will play for its first national championship on Monday, and Mark Cuban-billionaire Mavs co-owner, 1981 Kelley School grad, and the Hoosiers’ most visible booster-can hardly believe the turnaround. He has bankrolled the rebuild for years, dropping $5 million on a sports-media center in 2015 and quietly writing bigger checks once the transfer portal and NIL exploded. Even he didn’t forecast a 26-2 surge since coach Curt Cignetti arrived and a perfect 15-0 record this season.
From Bottom-Feeder to No. 1
Cuban’s donations predate Cignetti, but the pair clicked instantly. The coach credits the booster’s cash and cachet for accelerating a culture flip that now has Indiana atop the College Football Playoff mountain.
- January 8, 2024: Cignetti hired after building James Madison into an FCS power.
- September-December 2024: Hoosiers rip off 15 straight, beat Alabama 38-3 and Oregon 56-22 by an average 34.5 points.
- December 7, 2024: First Big Ten title since 1967 sealed with a rout of Michigan.
- January 6, 2025: AP Poll crowns Indiana No. 1 for the first time in school history.
Cuban’s Checkbook Meets Cignetti’s Culture
The coach jokes that if Cuban wired $10 million, “that would be like me donating $10,000,” but he insists the relationship runs deeper than zeros. Cuban texts players, sat on the sideline for the Peach Bowl demolition of Oregon, and uses his platform to amplify the program’s brand.
> “It takes a village. It takes money,” Cignetti said Saturday. “But it’s not all about money. We’ve got a lot of alums, a lot of rich alums. Mark Cuban is a very visible guy … He’s got instant recognition, which only helps.”
Cuban frames his giving as seed money for a self-sustaining winner. He told Front Office Sports earlier this year that he upped his contribution for the current transfer cycle, aiming to stockpile difference-makers who could survive an SEC-level schedule.
Mendoza’s Magic Year
Sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the first Heisman winner in program history, has turned a loaded roster into a highlight reel. His playoff line: 86% completions, 31-of-36, 5 total touchdowns, zero interceptions. For the season he has 41 TD passes, 3,847 yards, and a 197.3 passer rating.
Indiana’s defense ranks No. 2 nationally in scoring defense (12.4 ppg) and No. 3 in total defense (268 ypg). Special teams average +7.8 yards per punt return, flipping fields in a blink.
Monday Night Stakes
The Hoosiers meet Miami (14-1) in the CFP final at NRG Stadium. A victory would cap the sport’s most improbable rise: from five-win seasons and empty seats to confetti and crystal. Cuban, who lost two NBA Finals before winning one with Dallas, warns the pain of coming close still stings.
> “An appearance is fun. It’s been an amazing run,” Cuban wrote via email. “As someone who has lost two NBA Finals and won one, I can tell you losing hurts a lot more than winning is fun.”
Cignetti, voted AP Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons, embraces the pressure. Players say his motto-“Stack days, don’t borrow them”-keeps them locked on the next rep, not the scoreboard.
Key Takeaways
- Money matters: Cuban’s millions funded facilities and NIL collectives, luring portal stars who became instant starters.
- Culture kills: Cignetti’s detail-obsessed staff turned transfers into teammates and skeptics into believers.
- Star power: Mendoza’s Heisman season plus a ferocious defense give Indiana the rare combo of elite offense and shutdown D.
- History awaits: Win Monday and Indiana completes the fastest climb from irrelevance to champion in modern college-football history.
