If Indiana University wins the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, fans will owe some thanks to one of the football program’s biggest financial donors: billionaire Mark Cuban.
Cuban, whose net worth is estimated at $9.6 billion by Bloomberg, graduated from IU with a degree in management in 1981. He’s a longtime donor to his alma mater, including $5 million for a sports media center in 2015 and $6 million for IU’s rugby team in 2024.
While Cuban hasn’t disclosed the size of his recent donations to IU’s athletic department, it was a “big number,” the billionaire told CBS in October 2025. The team’s recent success under head coach Curt Cignetti, hired in 2024, inspired Cuban to open his checkbook again: The school is “happier this year than last year” after his latest donation, Cuban told Front Office Sports on Jan. 7.
Now, Cignetti’s team is just one win against the University of Miami away from a national championship and Cuban says it’s because the coach understands the most important aspects of building a successful organization.
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