Just as Indiana\u2019s storybook 2024 season was coming to a disappointing close, the stage was apparently being set for a 2025 campaign that redefined the program\u2019s ceiling.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview with Front Office Sports<\/a>, Mark Cuban wound back the clock to Dec. 20, 2024, when the Hoosiers were losing to Notre Dame in the first round of that season\u2019s College Football Playoff. Cuban, the former Dallas Mavericks majority owner who\u2019s notably an Indiana alum, was in a suite with the school\u2019s athletic director, Scott Dolson, and president, Pamela Whitten.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n That\u2019s where a conversation took place that Cuban says led to him providing NIL money that helped the Hoosiers land quarterback Fernando Mendoza in the transfer portal.<\/p>\n Before then, Cuban reportedly had never donated to Indiana athletics<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were getting blown out from the beginning,\u201d Cuban said of the 27-17 CFP defeat in the interview, which will appear in a new episode of FOS\u2019 \u201cPortfolio Players.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFirst thing I said to Scott was, \u2018Well, at least this year you\u2019re not having to look for another football coach.\u2019 Because that was kind of a time-honored tradition at Indiana, always looking for a football coach.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n At the time, Indiana was on the heels of its first double-digit-win season. Long a Big Ten bottom dweller, the Hoosiers were representing the conference in the first 12-team playoff under Curt Cignetti, who instantly carried over his success from James Madison.<\/p>\n Albeit with a favorable schedule, Indiana went 11-1 during the 2024 regular season. When all was said and done, its only two losses were to Ohio State and Notre Dame, the teams who played for the national title that time around.<\/p>\n In just one season, Cignetti\u2019s impact in Bloomington was undeniable. Finally, the Hoosiers could lean on continuity at the helm of the program.<\/p>\n \u201cSo he\u2019s like, \u2018Yeah, that\u2019s the positive,\u2019\u201d Cuban said, via FOS, recounting his dialogue with Dolson back then. \u201cAnd then we started talking, and he\u2019s like, \u2018We\u2019ve got this quarterback that we really, really like that we think would be great. \u2026<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cJust need a little bit more.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018How much is a little bit?\u2019 So he told me, and I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, we\u2019re on a roll. I\u2019ll put up the money to get this quarterback.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That quarterback, of course, was Mendoza. After spending three seasons at Cal, two as a starter, Mendoza transferred to Indiana, where he took the baton and ran with it.<\/p>\n He piloted the Hoosiers to a Big Ten championship and their first national championship. Mendoza, an unashamedly goofy yet inspiringly gritty signal-caller, was at the forefront of Indiana\u2019s 16-0 season, which also saw him evolve into a Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 overall pick in this year\u2019s NFL Draft.<\/p>\n Cuban explained in the FOS interview that he was aware of Mendoza\u2019s younger brother, Alberto, who joined the Hoosiers ahead of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Cuban and Alberto Mendoza didn\u2019t meet on campus, however. Cuban said that the Miami native is a Heat fan and would sit behind the Miami bench, positioning that precipitated their introduction at a Heat-Mavericks game.<\/p>\n With that prior connection and an aim to help Indiana further its climb up the FBS ladder, Cuban made a commitment to the Hoosiers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll put up the money, and we can go get Fernando,\u2019\u201d Cuban said, via FOS. \u201cAnd the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuban, a billionaire who owned the Mavs while they won an NBA title in 2011, was asked directly how much Indiana needed to complete its NIL deal for Mendoza.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cThey needed enough,\u201d Cuban said with a grin, via FOS.<\/p>\n Cuban has never disclosed how much he\u2019s donated to Indiana for NIL purposes, according to FOS<\/a>. That said, Cuban is on the record hinting that he upped his financial investment in the program this past season<\/a>.<\/p>\n