"Let's Just Say They Are Happier This Year Than Last Year" – Add Convincing Mark Cuban to Donate to Indiana Athletics to Curt Cignetti's List of Crowning Achievements

At this point, there's no longer a need to re-hash all the things Curt Cignetti has done for Indiana University. Everybody knows the story by now. We're all thoroughly impressed. Curt Cignetti could lose every game for the rest of his career and he still might go down as the greatest hire in college football history.

But along with Cignetti's on-the-field heroics... along with identifying talent better than any coach in college football... convincing Mark Cuban to donate to Indiana's NIL fund is as impressive of a feat as any. 

Oregon has Phil Knight. Michigan has Stephen Ross, Larry Ellison, and about 100 impossibly rich families. Ohio State has the Jeffrey Epstein's best friend. And Indiana has Mark Cuban. Except according to Mark Cuban himself, Mark Cuban doesn't historically donate to Indiana athletics. He once gave $5 million for a sports media and technology center. He once gave $6 million to Indiana's rugby club (that one's kinda wild). But in general, Cuban doesn't donate to things that he believes will raise tuition. Like having an elite college football program.

But somehow, 30+ years after Mark Cuban graduated from Indiana, Curt Cignetti managed to change that. This is from a CBS Sports article written back in October.

CBS Sports – "I gave some to sports this year for the first time ever," Cuban told CBS Sports. "Typically, I was the exact opposite. I'm not a fan of anything that I believe raises tuition in the least bit. But after getting to talk to Cig and seeing what was going on, they kinda talked me into it. 

Whether it's 3-star recruits, or billionaire entrepreneurs, Cignetti sure knows how to get the most out of them. Who would have guessed when Indiana hired Curt Cignetti that him and the schools biggest potential donor would bond over being born in the same Pittsburgh hospital. 

Cuban has a close relationship with athletic director Scott Dolson, as he did Dolson's predecessor Fred Glass, but it was the kinship with Cignetti that pushed him to give. They originally met at a fundraiser for the singer John Mellencamp. There, they figured out both were born in the same Pittsburgh area hospital and are only three years apart in age.

I like to think Indiana's AD Scott Dolson did his homework and knew the only thing that would convince Mark Cuban to open his checkbook was the kinship of an authentic blue-collar Yinzer.

"The fact that Cig has said I win everywhere I go, I didn't believe him, but he showed it against all odds, he proved that he was a true Yinzer," Cuban said. "He's a true blue collar guy who worked his way up. He worked for some great coaches, but he went through the grind. It was one step and then he won. Then another step up he won. Another step up he won. That's hardly heard of anywhere in college sports -- football or basketball, volleyball, baseball, whatever. He had a history of winning. And, you know, he had a bunch of shit to him. He's a Pittsburgh guy, and that's what I really like. Maybe if he wasn't a Pittsburgh guy, I might not have done it. But, you know, we had that connection."  

I really wish we knew exactly how much money Curt Cignetti has managed to get out of Cuban. It's a shame the whole initial interaction didn't go down on an episode of Shark Tank.

Unfortunately, that number has not been disclosed. All we know is that Indiana football is "happier this year than last year". It remains unclear whether Mark Cuban is being more generous to Indiana's FBS National Championship contending football program than he was to their club rugby organization. 

Regardless, getting Mark Cuban to donate anything to Indiana's NIL fund is an achievement in its own right. But I'd imagine Mark Cuban is just like any Hoosiers fan who couldn't have cared less about Indiana football until they started winning. Where once the ball got rolling, and they come to realize how fun it is to have a winning football team, they'll do anything in their power to be a part of it.