The Indiana Hoosiers have won its first NCAA Football championship and turned in one of the biggest turnarounds in professional sports with an impressive win in the College Football Playoffs. Helping the team’s and the school's cause in recent years has been billionaire alumnus Mark Cuban.
Here's how Cuban helped Indiana football and how he sees NIL investments similar to "Shark Tank."
Mark Cuban Helps Alma Mater Indiana University
Before becoming a billionaire and future member of "Shark Tank," Cuban played rugby at Indiana University. That school is now benefiting from Cuban being a large donor to the school's name, image and likeness (NIL) efforts to turn around its football program.
Cuban attended the National Championship game on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, and watched his alma mater defeat Miami University 27-21 in a game that aired on ESPN, a unit of Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS).
Ahead of the championship game, Cuban was featured in multiple interviews sharing his thoughts on NIL and the turnaround efforts of Indiana, which has the losingest program in FBS football.
"I never thought," Cuban told FOS when asked about seeing Indiana's football success. "No, never in my wildest dreams."
Cuban highlighted the school being known for basketball, where it has five national championships.
The hiring of coach Curt Cignetti turned things around for Indiana and helped Cuban get involved with NIL funding.
Cuban and Cignetti are both from Pennsylvania and were born in the same hospital, shared connections that helped the two become friendly, as reported by USA Today.
The former "Shark Tank" investor said helping Indiana's NIL funding wasn't just about outbidding other teams, but instead was about having a culture and strong organization.
"All the things you need to do to win, no matter what the sport is."
Cuban said Cignetti told him that he has a specific way to get things done and had past success in doing them.
"I'm like investing in an entrepreneur in ‘Shark Tank.' He'd been there and done that; he had an approach. He has a system. The way he designs everything, the way he builds organizations. That's really what connected me."
NIL, which allows schools and companies to pay college athletes for their name, image and likeness, has changed college sports, especially football. It has also led to more players hitting the transfer portal and changing schools after each season.
Indiana and Cignetti have utilized this transfer portal to help build the football roster that includes no five-star recruits.
"It's not about winning the portal. It's about getting athletes and players who want to know their role, work to fill their role, know what their position is with the team," Cuban added.
Cuban highlighted the focus on the right players and role players to provide success, similar to what he focused on when he was the majority owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and had to fit the roster within the salary cap.
The billionaire, who is worth $9.6 billion, according to Bloomberg, confirmed he recently donated to Indiana's football program again.
Indiana's Improbable Run
Indiana's football team had two winning seasons since 2000 before Cignetti took over the team in 2024, going 8-5 in 2019 and 7-6 in 2007.
The team has an overall record of 510-691-38 over 127 seasons.
The last two seasons have been historic, with the team going 11-2 last year and a perfect 16-0 this season, including winning the school's first national championship. This marked the first 16-0 season by a Division-I FBS football team in the modern college football era, as the playoffs have expanded the number of games played by the top teams.
Ranked 20th in the preseason poll, Indiana overcame historical norms, as most of the recent winners have been ranked in the top six to start each season.
Cignetti joined Indiana with a history of winning, leading lower-level teams such as Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Elon University and James Madison University, which he helped transition into Division-1 FBS football.
“I win. Google me,” Cignetti said proudly when introduced by Indiana as the new football coach. Wiht a current record of 27-2 for the Hoosiers, Cignetti is certainly correct.
While Cignetti got the accomplishments on the field, his help from Cuban to help secure the right players in the transfer portal and pay players with NIL money is likely a big contribution to the team's success.
Photos: Shutterstock
