Mark Cuban on whether Curt Cignetti will leave Indiana for NFL
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Mark Cuban is among the nation of Hoosiers fans riding high with the Indiana University football team playing for the national championship. But is he entertaining the thought of head coach Curt Cignetti leaving the program for the NFL?
Cuban, a minority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and Indiana alum, appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” Monday ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship game that has the Hoosiers taking on the Miami Hurricanes.
He told hosts Stephen A. Smith and Shae Cornette, another IU alum, how he was recruited to support the football team under the new coach.
“He didn't come in and say, ‘I'm going to do all these grand things. He was just, ‘This is how we do it. I have a specific way. It's always worked. There's no reason why it's not going to work again,'” Cuban said. “It was like investing in an entrepreneur on ‘Shark Tank.’ He'd been there, done that, and he had an approach. And the fact that he has a system; the way he designs everything, the way he sells organizations, that's really what connected with me.”
“The other thing I love about the program … is they're not out there trying to outbid everybody,” he added. “We're not talking about how we’ve got the most expensive quarterback and we outbid everybody else. When a program does that, that's a desperate program.”
When Smith asked Cuban if he expected the coach to be lured by the NFL after a championship, Cuban said he expects Cignetti to be in Bloomington for a while.
“I think he’s smart enough not to fall for that because he won’t have the level of control. There's so many more elements in professional sports – guys are there that are 35 or 40 (years old) and some places have 10 kids. That's just a totally different type of system and management where with Coach Cig he has that level of control that he needs. He can get the exact players he wants. He doesn't have to worry about a general manager who just got hired and he wants his own players in there,” Cuban said. “I don't see him leaving.”
Contact Midwest Connect reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cjackson@usatodayco.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Will Curt Cignetti leave Indiana for NFL? IU alum Mark Cuban weighs in
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos