Fernando Mendoza added one more feather to his cap of collegiate success. The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback was pursuing his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management at the University of California.
Despite transferring to Indiana, he completed his three-year course and graduated in May. On Saturday, Mendoza took to social media to share photos from his graduation. The quarterback expressed his gratitude and support for the California Golden Bears in the caption.
Thanks for the submission!
“Go Bears Forever,” Mendoza wrote.
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The quarterback’s graduation post also caught the attention of WNBA star Sophie Cunningham, who liked it on Instagram.
Cunningham played for the Missouri Tigers during college before being drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in 2019. In Jan. 2025, he was traded to the Indiana Fever in a four-team trade, including the Dallas Wings and the Connecticut Sun.
Coming out of high school, Mendoza initially committed to play for Yale. However, he later signed with California and redshirted his freshman campaign in 2022. During the 2023 season, he played in nine games and recorded 1,708 yards and 14 TDs passing.
A year later, Mendoza won the starting quarterback job. He put up 3,004 yards and 16 TDs passing and helped the Golden Bears finish with a 6-7 record. In Dec. 2024, he decided to enter the transfer portal to join the Indiana Hoosiers.
Last season, Fernando Mendoza created history with the program. He led the team to its first-ever college football national championship with an undefeated record. The quarterback recorded 3,535 yards and 41 TDs passing.
Mendoza was honored as the Heisman winner for his performance. The Las Vegas Raiders then drafted him first overall in this year’s draft. He is currently competing for the QB1 job alongside veteran Kirk Cousins.
Donald Trump shares his thoughts on Fernando Mendoza missing White House visit with Indiana
Last month, the Indiana Hoosiers made their official White House visit after winning the 2025 national championship. However, Fernando Mendoza was not present for the occasion. During rookie minicamp, the quarterback said he was considering missing the visit as he has to prepare for his professional NFL debut.
During the commemoration ceremony, POTUS Donald Trump shared a few words on Mendoza’s absence.
“The reason he’s not here — he was so nice, he called because he has actually… he’s a big fan of ours,” Trump said. “You wouldn’t believe it, because he didn’t show up. I’m not happy, but that’s OK… He’s at spring training, like his first day or something.
“I said, ‘You better go there.’ Otherwise, if he didn’t do that, believe me, I wouldn’t have even talked about him. If he was not here for other reasons, like he didn’t like Trump or he didn’t want to come, I wouldn’t have even mentioned him. I’d go through the whole [speech] — I’d talk about how great [the team was], I wouldn’t even mention the quarterback’s name.”
The Raiders’ 2026 campaign kicks off with a season opener against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13
Edited by Priyam Hazarika