After lifting the 2025 national championship, the Indiana Hoosiers ushered in a new era, one of their own creation. An era where any underdog team can dream big and rise to national prominence. A G-5 program, which has just two 10+ win seasons in its whole history, is dreaming the same. And their dream might just be possible with the help of billionaire YouTuber Mr. Beast, who grew up witnessing the program’s path closely in his North Carolina hometown.

The whole thing started when Joshua Owings of The Real Oshow posted a reel suggesting that Mr. Beast should fund a Group of Five team’s run to a national championship. 

“Someone said that Mr. Beast should do a video where he pays for a G5 team to win a national championship,” Owings explained in the viral clip. “And I actually think this is a genius idea that would fascinate sports fans everywhere. Imagine Mr. Beast spends $100 million to send ECU football to the promised land. That would be the most unreal thing and would get the most numbers. And the players would be into it because they would want to be on YouTube.”

Donaldson reshared the post on his Instagram story with a question, “Should I do this?” That single post has ignited speculation across college football about whether the YouTuber with 456 million subscribers and a reported $2.6 billion net worth would actually commit nine figures to turning a middling AAC program into a national contender.​​

Donaldson is also no stranger to high-profile challenges like these. In his recent video, Donaldson organized a “real-life” Squid Game where he gave away almost $500,000. Before that, the North Carolina YouTuber gave away $10,000 daily to contestants for spending each day in a grocery store. So, it won’t be hard for the billionaire to take up the potential challenge and fuel ECU’s rise if he wants. A $100 million investment would also be unprecedented for the program.

In 2025, Texas reportedly had a $40 million roster, and OSU had a $20 million roster in the 2024 season. If ECU gets that $100 million NIL money, it would fuel a sustainable rise for at least 3-4 years easily, after which the program can take care of itself, owing to its potential natty win in the period. Indiana, for instance, had a similar trajectory.

The team, under the leadership of AD Scott Dolson, exceeded $61.6 million in spending in 2024 for the first time. Moreover, Curt Cignetti brought 15 JMU players with him, who propelled Indiana’s 2025 season natty run. That seems easy now, but Indiana was the losingest program in FBS history, and without significant donor NIL investment, the resurgence would never have happened. Only later did Mark Cuban come in and promise consistent investment. But why is Mr. Beast being generous for the Greenville, North Carolina program?

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While Donaldson never attended the university, he was brought up in Greenville after his mother moved there due to her military career. The 27-year-old attended Greenville Christian Academy High School and graduated in 2016. Donaldson’s growing-up connection to ECU is more geographical and cultural. Greenville is a classic college town dominated by ECU, which has more than 27,000 enrolled students. It not only shapes the culture but also boosts the regional economy and shapes local life for the residents. Growing up, Donaldson was most likely influenced by the same culture, which is also evident now in his YouTube videos.

The $2.6 billion social media phenomenon regularly uses ECU facilities for making his videos. That includes his track rental video and establishing a $54,000 temporary hearing aid clinic. In 2023, the 27-year-old even gifted $20,000 to an ECU student as part of a video stunt on campus, and ECU locations are prominently visible in his videos. Never mind that Mr. Beast has partnered with the program before.

Donaldson collaborated with the university to develop a “credentialing program to help solve the creator industry’s growing demand for a skilled workforce pipeline.” Donaldson remained excited for the initiative and also dubbed the move to completely change “the industry’s growing demand for a skilled workforce.”

Donaldson was genuinely excited about that initiative. He said at the time, “Genuinely, I hope this is as beneficial for you as it’s going to be for a lot of creators like us. I can see this completely changing the industry. I’m excited!” Though that program has reportedly stalled without much explanation, the existing relationship provides a foundation for something far more ambitious.

But Mr. Beast’s past connections are not the only reason to support the program.

ECU Football is finding its footing under its new head coach

Donaldson is also probably seeing the potential in the program. Ever since the Pirates promoted Blake Harrell to head coach in October 2024, the program has compiled a 14-5 record. Under his helm, the team has won two Military Bowls over ACC opponents and beat Pittsburgh in December in a bowl game. This kind of success is rare for ECU.

The Pirates have a 477-463 record, and their last conference championship win came in 2009. The team also has a 51,000-seater Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and a $25 million indoor facility for its athletes. All the program needs is attracting top talent and keeping its players away from Power-4 programs. In 2025, ECU landed three First Team All-American Conference selections. But all three will now suit up elsewhere in 2026.

The Pirates also lost their veteran QB starter, Katin Houser, to Illinois, who finished 21st nationally in passing yards in 2025. The team’s ace RB, London Montgomery, moved to Florida, and the team lost 998 rushing yards to the transfer portal in 2026. That’s just a few examples, and ECU is now back to square one after a 9-win season in 2025. Investments like Mr. Beast will help alleviate this problem and likely fuel unseen success for the program.