Indiana Hoosiers fans might want to send a thank-you card to Mark Cuban. The billionaire entrepreneur and former Dallas Mavericks majority owner is taking credit for landing the biggest transfer portal prize in college football history: quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Mendoza, who transferred from California last offseason, led Indiana to an undefeated season and the program's first national championship. He also took home the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 48 touchdowns and averaging a staggering 10.8 yards per pass attempt. The Las Vegas Raiders made him the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But according to Cuban, none of that happens without his checkbook. In an interview with Front Office Sports, Cuban revealed that he gave his alma mater money specifically to pursue Mendoza.
“I’ll put up the money to get this quarterback,” Cuban said.
The story goes back to December 2024, during Indiana's first-round College Football Playoff loss to Notre Dame. Cuban was chatting with Hoosiers athletic director Scott Dolson when the conversation turned to the transfer portal.
“We started talking,” Cuban recalled. “He’s like, ‘We got this quarterback that we really, really like that we think would be great. Just need a little more.’ I’m like, ‘How much is a little bit?’ And so he told me and I’m like, OK. We’re on a roll. I’ll put up the money to get this quarterback.”
Cuban declined to reveal the exact amount, but he made it clear the investment paid off. “They needed enough,” he declared.
The connection to the Mendoza family actually predates the transfer. Cuban had already met Fernando's brother, Alberto Mendoza, at Mavericks games. Alberto, a Heat fan, would sit behind the Miami bench, and Cuban struck up a friendship.
“I knew [Alberto], who was already on the team, was a Heat fan and he would sit behind the Miami bench,” Cuban said. “And when I would come to go to Mavs-Heat games, he was like, ‘Oh yeah, I go to IU.’ So we met. And so I’m like, OK, I’ll put up the money, and we can go get Fernando. And the rest is history.”
While Cuban's role in the Mendoza saga is now public, it's just the latest example of his influence in sports. He's also weighed in on the NBA trade market, predicting it will 'explode' under new lottery rules. And he's offered blunt advice to young athletes: skip college debt, hit community college.
Meanwhile, Mendoza has already made waves in the NFL, skipping the White House visit to prove himself at OTAs, as reported earlier. But for Indiana fans, the memory of that perfect season — and the quarterback who made it possible — will last forever.
And they have Mark Cuban to thank for it.
