In hindsight, Indiana needed quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and Mendoza needed the Hoosiers. It couldn’t have happened any other way. Mendoza’s gregarious public image provided a perfect contrast to coach Curt Cignetti’s stoicism, and transformed both men into household names in college football’s most memorable championship season.
However, Mendoza going from California to Indiana for the 2025 season was not a given. In February, the now-Raiders quarterback said he was very close to calling Georgia coach Kirby Smart to commit to play for him in Dec. 2024. The Bulldogs won the SEC and played in the Sugar Bowl, but watched Mendoza win the national title from their couches.
On Tuesday, Hoosier fans learned who exactly was responsible for helping make the finances of the Mendoza move work. That would be one Mark Cuban—ex-Mavericks majority owner and billionaire Indiana graduate.
Cuban claimed he volunteered to put up money for Mendoza while watching Notre Dame beat Indiana in the 2024 CFP
The businessman told the story on Front Office Sports’s Portfolio Players podcast, in a clip circulated on social media Tuesday. Cuban recalled watching the Hoosiers lose to the Fighting Irish from a Notre Dame Stadium suite with Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson and president Pamela Whitten.
“We’ve got this quarterback that we really like that we think would be great,” Cuban recalled Dolson telling him. “Just need a little bit more.”
Cuban asked Dolson what he needed, and when the athletic director gave Cuban the undisclosed figure, the businessman agreed to provide it.
“We’re on a roll. I’ll put up the money to get this quarterback,” Cuban said he told Dolson.
Now-Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza, Fernando’s brother, was on the Hoosiers’ roster at the time. Cuban knew him—and by extension who Fernando was—from past encounters at NBA games between Dallas and the Heat in Miami—the Mendoza family’s hometown.
Fernando repaid Cuban by winning the Heisman Trophy, throwing 41 touchdowns against six interceptions, becoming the first overall pick in April’s NFL draft, and generally charming the sports world.
“The rest is history,” Cuban said succinctly.
Cuban previously detailed his contributions to Indiana athletics in January
“Already committed for this portal," Cuban told Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports back in January, amid widespread attention directed toward the Hoosiers’ roster-building process. “Let’s just say they are happier this year than last year."
Cuban made that statement shortly after Indiana’s 38–3 beatdown of Alabama in the Rose Bowl, which moved them to 14–0 on the season. Schiffer reported that Cuban—a prolific donor to the university at large—had never donated to the Hoosiers’ athletic department before Cignetti arrived.
Indiana, unsurprisingly for a defending national champion with a billionaire now in its corner, enjoyed a fertile transfer-portal period. The Hoosiers lured quarterback Josh Hoover from TCU to replace Mendoza, and wide receiver Nick Marsh from Michigan State to bolster their receiving corps.
Eyeing more history—while at the same time being unable to sneak up on college football anymore—Indiana is scheduled to open the 2026 season on Sept. 5 against North Texas.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Finally, Mark Cuban Explains Role in Luring Fernando Mendoza to Indiana via Transfer Portal.
