Anybody could have assumed the architect behind Indiana’s most important roster move in program history is Curt Cignetti. But when Mark Cuban narrated the story, the credit for signing Fernando Mendoza didn’t land on the head coach. It landed in the AD’s office.

Everything started back on December 20, 2024. It came during Indiana’s 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Inside a suite, Mark Cuban was sitting with AD Scott Dolson and university president Pamela Whitten as they watched the Hoosiers’ dream season slip away.

When Mark Cuban half-joked that Indiana didn’t have to look for another head coach, Scott Dolson took his chance to make the pitch. As an alum himself, there was no better time and place to do that than when he was joined by another wealthy former alum who was previously the Dallas Mavericks majority owner. And so, while the game played out, he made that program-changing pitch.

“[Dolson]’s like, we’ve got this quarterback that we really, really like that we think would be great in Cig’s system, we just need a little bit more,” Mark Cuban told Front Office Sports. “I’m like, ‘How much is a little bit?’ And so he told me, and I’m like, ‘O.K., you know, we’re on a roll, I’ll put up the money to get this quarterback.’”

That was how Mark Cuban sealed a future national title for Indiana with a future NFL No. 1 overall pick, thanks to Scott Dolson’s pitch. That was his first and most impactful donation to the Hoosiers, and Fernando Mendoza proved to everyone he’s worth every cent of that undisclosed donation. Cuban made it even clearer later. He said he gives Scott Dolson the money and trusts him to handle the plan. That matters because it shows Dolson was not just asking for help. He was leading the move.

Fernando Mendoza was already a proven QB, but he’s relatively unknown because he was at Cal before the Indiana transfer in 2025. At Cal, he was reportedly pulling in $1.6 million, which bumped up to $2.6 million after arriving in Bloomington. In his first and final season under Curt Cignetti’s system, he finished with a 72% completion rate and recorded 3,535 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, and just 6 interceptions. The Hoosiers went 16-0 and won the ultimate college football trophy, and he walked away as the Heisman winner. 

Curt Cignetti deserves credit for turning Indiana from a Big Ten afterthought into a playoff team. Even in his first year, he went 11-1 in the regular season. But going from a good jump to a national champion conversation required something extra. That’s where Scott Dolson played a big role, and Mark Cuban made that clear. 

“I just give Scott money, and it’s up to him,” he said. “We talk a lot, we talk about approach, understanding how to put together a team. Because I did it for 20-something years. So it’s not like I have to direct him to something specific. I understand how they’re approaching things.”

And that’s how that one pitch changed Indiana football’s history and the life of Fernando Mendoza. 

Fernando Mendoza rises to become the top NFL draft pick

Fernando Mendoza’s rise in college put him in a great position at the 2026 NFL Draft. The Las Vegas Raiders made him the No. 1 overall pick and invested heavily. According to Spotrac, his rookie contract is the highest in the league’s history. It’s a 4-year deal worth $57.3 million, which means he’s set to earn $13.6 million annually. 

That’s the Raiders betting on him to turn the franchise around as he did at Indiana. The hype is already translating, as his jersey is the top-selling among rookies, outpacing every other big-name draft pick. But all these exist because of that 2024 conversation between two Indiana alums. 

Indiana didn’t accidentally win a national title. It found the right player and had the infrastructure to close the deal. Curt Cignetti is still the face of the turnaround, and Fernando Mendoza may be the star. But the mastermind who saw the move before anyone else and made it happen was still Scott Dolson.