The tradition of the college football champions visiting the White House goes all the way back to 1961 when the Alabama Crimson Tide visited President John F. Kennedy in Washington, D.C. following their national title.
Following their historic National Championship from this past season, today was the day for the Indiana Hoosiers to visit the White House. The festivities took place on the South Lawn and featured the National Championship Trophy, and a vast majority of players and coaches from IU's title team participated. A big name missing from the festivities was Heisman Trophy-winning Hoosier QB Fernando Mendoza, but that didn't come as a surprise.
Mendoza had previously stated that he would not be in attendance because he is solely focused on preparing for the NFL. The 6'5" quarterback was the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2026 NFL Draft last month, and recently participated in Las Vegas' rookie minicamp. He continues to prepare for NFLPA Rookie Premiere before OTAs start in late May. Given his status as the No. 1 overall pick, Mendoza thought it would be a bad look for a rookie to skip out on any offseason work with the Raiders.
"I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here. I’ve got to prove myself,” Mendoza told the media earlier this offseason. “I can’t miss practice. I don’t have the calendar, but as a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look. I want to try to best serve my teammates, and I don’t know if that’d be accomplishing that goal.”
Despite not being in attendance, Mendoza was still a topic of conversation.
Fernando Mendoza draws high praise from President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump took to the podium to deliver some remarks about Indiana's impressive College Football Playoff run. Trump was hoping Mendoza would attend, but understands the obligations Mendoza has to his new team.
“Starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza…He was so nice, he called. JD [Vance], he's a big fan of ours, but you wouldn't believe it because he didn’t show up," Trump said at the event. "I'm not happy, but that’s okay. The reason he didn’t is because he’s at spring training, right? He's at spring training...and I said you better go there."
President Donald Trump said Fernando Mendoza called him to say he couldn't make trip, Trump said Mendoza is a big supporter of his pic.twitter.com/iGbphyupCG
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) May 11, 2026
Mendoza knows he has a lot of work to do before the NFL regular season rolls round in the fall. The Raiders are a proud franchise with a rich history, but they've fallen on tough times in recent seasons.
As the No. 1 overall pick, the Raiders are more or less handing the keys of the franchise to Mendoza. Expectations are already soaring, and Mendoza is making it clear that he wants to do all that he can to be as prepared as possible.
He brought the same mentality to the Hoosiers during his lone season in Bloomington, and it produced elite results. Fans of Indiana football are excited to see what he can do at the next level.
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