Amid Indiana’s run to the College Football Playoff national championship, Mark Cuban has made clear his relationship with Curt Cignetti. As it turns out, Cignetti was a factor in Cuban’s decision to invest in his alma mater’s football program. Cuban has made multiple investments as Indiana punched its ticket to the title game, most recently […]
Amid Indiana’s run to the College Football Playoff national championship, Mark Cuban has made clear his relationship with Curt Cignetti. As it turns out, Cignetti was a factor in Cuban’s decision to invest in his alma mater’s football program.
Cuban has made multiple investments as Indiana punched its ticket to the title game, most recently during the transfer portal window. He is also building a strong presence at Indiana’s CFP games, attending both the Peach Bowl and Monday’s national championship game.
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But in the era of NIL and player movement, Cuban didn’t want to try and out-bid other teams. Instead, he sought a role in building a program, and Cignetti painted a picture. The Dallas Mavericks minority owner was all-in from there.
“Honestly, I really jumped in because of how [Cignetti] approaches building a program,” Cuban told CBS Sports ahead of the national title game. “They weren’t about, ‘Okay, give me enough money to go win the portal, to win this bidding war.’ He had a very specific approach to his culture. … He understood roles and how to get guys. It’s not even like the NBA where you might keep a guy like Dirk [Nowitzki] for 21 years or [Dwyane Wade]. Here, it’s like, you might have him for one year. That takes a very special way of putting together a program.
“You need the right players who know their roles, the right coaches. Once I understood that, it was pretty straightforward.”
Mark Cuban: ‘We’re not going to chase or spend the most’
One of the biggest storylines heading into the national championship game was roster construction, as On3’s Chris Low detailed. Miami had the big-name players, fueled by four straight Top-15 recruiting classes. Indiana, meanwhile, hasn’t ranked higher than No. 29 in the last four cycles.
As a result, the IU players call themselves the “Island of Misfit Toys” considering the lack of five-star prospect. Mark Cuban said that’s part of what separates the Hoosiers from the rest and further showcases the vision of building a complete program. That further proves Curt Cignetti’s vision.
“What I didn’t want was, ‘Give me more. Let me go bid on this guy,'” Cuban said. “That’s why you see us, there’s no five-stars, seven four-stars because that’s how you build a program. I think that’s the difference for winning. And that was the Shark Tank pitch.
“We’re not going to chase or spend the most. But we’re going to be the smartest and put together a real program that knows how to win.”
Amid IU’s success this year, though, the Hoosiers are also capitalizing in the transfer portal. They entered Monday ranked No. 2 in the On3 Industry Team Transfer Portal Rankings with a class led by TCU transfer Josh Hoover – the No. 19 overall player in the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings.
Category: General Sports
