Fernando Mendoza is among the candidates to win this year’s Heisman Trophy after leading the Indiana Hoosiers to the best regular-season record (13-0) in college football in 2025. Indiana finished undefeated and stopped the reigning national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, from winning the Big Ten championship.
His parents are Fernando and Elsa Mendoza. His dad is of Cuban descent and the pediatric emergency director at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. According to some reports, he attended Brown University and was part of the rowing crew there. Other reports have shown him as a high school football teammate of Miami’s Mario Cristobal.
Her mother, Elsa, was a tennis player at the University of Miami, and she holds an MBA degree from the school. She’s also of Cuban descent, and according to reports, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014. The quarterback has cited her as a big inspiration for him.
Elsa Mendoza’s Letter to Her Son, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza
It’s safe to say that Elsa Mendoza is Fernando Mendoza’s biggest fan. She recently wrote a letter for “Players’ Tribute” ahead of the Heisman ceremony, and she went all out on showing how proud she is of her son.
“You’re a teammate at heart. I’ve been lucky enough to know that for a much longer time than most people….. and not just because I’m your mom. But because I feel like I was your very first teammate,” she wrote.
“(M)aybe this is silly to say about a newborn, but to me you were more like my buddy. And it’s like we were each dealing with our own exciting/scary new thing. And the way we got through it was together. I’m proud of you, not just today, but every day,” Elsa added.
The admiration goes both ways, with the quarterback telling the press after last week that his love for his mother is unconditional. The letter recounts how the Mendozas moved from Boston to Miami during Fernando’s childhood and how Tom Brady remained his idol throughout.
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