The city of Pittsburgh is known for its downtown three river confluence.
And two of that city’s native sons have formed a new kind of confluence in Bloomington.
Mark Cuban, IU’s wealthiest alumnus, and head football coach Curt Cignetti are around the same age and both from Pittsburgh. In a report by Richard Johnson for CBS Sports, Cuban says he has bonded with Cignetti over their common upbringing.
“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,’ Cuban told CBS Sports.
Might not have done what, you ask?
“I gave some to sports this year for the first time ever,” Cuban said. “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.”
Cuban told CBS the amount he gave IU Athletics was a “big number” that wasn’t tethered to a specific cause. But obviously his connection with Cignetti was the inspiration. And IU was able to sign several high profile transfers, highlighted by quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
A 1981 IU graduate, Cuban’s initial billions came primarily from his passion for IU basketball. Prior to the internet he would have friends in Indiana put Don Fischer’s radio broadcast up to a speakerphone so he could listen to the games from Dallas. In 1995 Todd Wagner came to Cuban with the concept of broadcasting sporting events over the internet. Four years later their company sold for more than $5 billion.
Cuban has given to other IU-related causes. He donated $5 million to create a first-of-its-kind, cutting-edge, student-focused video, broadcasting and technology center in 2015. The Mark Cuban Center for Sports Media Technology is housed within the home of IU basketball at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
In October he gave $6 million to help fund the IU rugby club.
“Whatever I give to IU, it will only be a fraction of what Indiana University gave to me,” Cuban said at the time of his technology center gift.
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