The Indiana Hoosiers are the kings of college football after capping off one of the greatest seasons in college football history. The Hoosiers have come out of nowhere, as the program was the losingest program in FBS history until one point in the 2026 season when they finally vaulted ahead of Northwestern.
Curt Cignetti deserves the most credit of anyone as he took the job, said he was going to win big, and then did it. Everywhere Cignetti's been, he's won, and teams are going to start looking for the next coach who fits his mold.
While Cignetti deserves more credit than anyone else, in the lead-up to the National Championship, it was revealed that they had more help than anyone realized. Mark Cuban has been helping fund the Hoosiers in this NIL era, which opens up everyone's minds to what could happen next in college football.
Cody Campbell with Texas Tech and Mark Cuban have proven that it takes one big booster to change the trajectory of a program. Moving forward, these 5 programs could follow suit as they have wealthy donors who could help change everything for a team.
Why these 5 programs could be the next Indiana
Harvard Crimson
While Harvard is currently at the FCS level, if the alumni decided that they wanted to become a football powerhouse, they could buy a better roster than anyone else. According to Forbes' 2025 Billionaires list, Harvard has 127 alumni who are billionaires, which is the most of any school. If the Crimson decide to become a football powerhouse out of nowhere, it'd be a scary thought for everyone else.
Stanford Cardinal
Among the FBS programs with the wealthiest alumni base, the Stanford Cardinal have the highest upside if they could raise the NIL funds. Stanford has 93 alumni who are billionaires which could quickly lead the program to having spending capital. Paired with joining the ACC, Stanford has a chance to become a bigger player in the sport if they embrace this new era.
East Carolina Pirates
Famous YouTube creator "Mr. Beast" has become famous for his crazy challenges, and the latest request he's getting is to fund East Carolina. After partnering with the school in 2022, fans have been calling for him to make his next challenge buying a National Championship for the Pirates. The social media creator has a net worth of $2.6 billion as of 2026 meaning he could back the program on his own.
Duke Blue Devils
Before the Mike Elko and Manny Diaz tenures, Duke was constantly hoping for a great season as a fairly inconsistent to bad program. In this era, Duke has the alumni base to start building one of the best teams in the ACC on a yearly basis, and it looked like they made that step with the deal they gave Darian Mensah. It will be hard to imagine Duke ever prioritizing football over basketball, but if they raise their spending, this could be one of the best teams in the ACC every season.
Northwestern Wildcats
While a ton of the Big Ten schools have gone all in on spending, Northwestern isn't seen as a power on the NIL front. As the Wildcats open Ryan Field and begin a new era in program history, we could see the Wildcats start to recruit at a higher level. Everyone knows that the fanbase is one of the wealthiest, and it'll just take the right staff and effort to garner donor support.