The Indiana Hoosiers are the biggest story in college football, and they’re one win away from hoisting the College Football Playoff national championship trophy.
The Hoosiers have long been considered one of the “basement teams” in the Big Ten when it came to football because, for so long, Indiana was known as a basketball school. The Hoosiers have won five championships on the basketball court with their last title was in 1987. They’ve never won a championship on the football field, and they’ve only won the Big Ten three times since 1953.
Indiana, being the No. 1 team in the country, has to be shocking for most casual college football fans. If you’ve been paying attention in the NIL and transfer portal, though, it makes sense.
Of course, a lot of credit belongs to head coach Curt Cignetti, but his program has been given plenty of resources to work with.
Specifically, billionaire and 1981 IU graduate Mark Cuban gave the Hoosiers a lot of money last season to go get some players in the transfer portal. One of those players was quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who just won the Heisman Trophy and very well may be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
That was the first time Cuban ever gave to the Indiana athletic department, but he recently revealed to Front Office Sports that he has made another sizable donation to put Indiana in a good position in the transfer portal.
“Already committed for this portal,” Cuban said in an email.
Curt Cignetti’s success convinced Mark Cuban to donate to Indiana Hoosiers athletic department
Cuban — who is worth $6 billion — has given to Indiana in the past. In 2015, he gave the Hoosiers $5 million to build a sports media center. He’s also funded the rugby club.
Cuban has never specifically given to the athletic department, though; it was Cignetti’s 11-2 campaign last season that spurred him on to support his alma mater.
“I gave some to sports this year for the first time ever,” Cuban told CBS Sports in October. “Typically, I was the exact opposite. I’m not a fan of anything that I believe raises tuition in the least bit. But after getting to talk to Cig and seeing what was going on, they kinda talked me into it.”
Cuban didn’t reveal how much he gave for the last transfer portal, and we also don’t know what he’s done for this cycle. He does believe the Hoosiers will be more than content with his contributions, though.
“Let’s just say they are happier this year than last year,” Cuban wrote.
Notably, Indiana is already one of the biggest winners in this transfer portal cycle. The Hoosiers might have Cuban to thank for that.