In the current world of NIL and the transfer portal, schools across the country are reliant on alumni bases to help fund their college football programs. Indiana is no different, as the Hoosiers boast the largest living alumni network in the United States.
Mark Cuban is one of Indiana's most prominent and wealthiest alums, and he is pulling back on the curtain on how he has helped support the Indiana football program.
Mark Cuban played a vital role in Indiana landing Fernando Mendoza last offseason
In an interview with Front Office Sports, Cuban detailed how he helped Indiana land Fernando Mendoza through the transfer portal last offseason.
On December 20, 2024, Cuban was in attendance at Indiana's first round College Football Playoff game at Notre Dame. As the Hoosiers were falling behind to the Fighting Irish, Cuban struck up a conversation in a suite with athletic director Scott Dolson and university president Pam Whitten.
Dolson mentioned that the program was extremely interested in bringing in one particular quarterback through the portal, but they just needed a little bit of help to make it happen.
“[Dolson]’s like, we’ve got this quarterback that we really, really like that we think would be great in Cig’s system, we just need a litttttle bit more,” Cuban explained. “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.’”
Cuban didn't reveal the exact amount of his donation, but it's clear that it got the job done.
"I'll put up the money and we can go get Fernando [Mendoza]."
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 5, 2026
Mark Cuban tells FOS that he provided the NIL money which allowed Indiana to sign the Heisman winning QB before the 2025 season. pic.twitter.com/BZAFOSt6ng
Up until that point, Cuban had never donated to the Indiana athletic department. His first donation ended up paying off in the best way possible, as Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 season that culminated in a historic National Championship. Oh yeah, and Mendoza also won the Heisman Trophy by throwing for 3,535 yards and accounting for 48 total touchdowns.
Cuban added that he doesn't donate with specific demands like some donors out there, but instead lets Dolson decide how to best use the funds to help the program.
According to Yahoo Sports, Mendoza was making $1.6 million during his final season at California in 2024, and then netted approximately $2.6 million when he transferred to Indiana. Following his lone season in Bloomington, Mendoza was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft last month.
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