Indiana

Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza declares for 2026 NFL draft; what it means

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2 months ago

January 23, 2026

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Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza declares for 2026 NFL draft; what it means

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza declared for the 2026 NFL Draft on Friday morning.

He made the announcement with a video on his Instagram account.

“Coming to Indiana was a leap of faith, a leap that led me to go 16-0 with my boys and a national championship,” Mendoza said. “And has now led me here, the moment where I get to dream bigger. Thank you to my family, the teammates that pushed me, the coaches that took a chance on me, it’s only with your support and the glory of God that I’m here today. With trust in my foundation and gratitude for every person that has helped me reach this moment. I’m ready to take the next step.”

“My LinkedIn status is now, open to work, and I’m officially declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft.”

Mendoza spent just 12 months on IU’s campus, but he built a lasting legacy while wearing the crimson and cream. His dive across the goal line on fourth down in the CFP title game was one of the all-time great moments in school history.

It was just the latest clutch play he made in a season full of them while leading the Hoosiers to a perfect season.

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The ones he made leading up to Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami helped him become the school’s first Heisman winner. He won the award in a landslide by beating out Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin for the honor.

Mendoza also won the Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award and earned top honors in the Big Ten (Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year).

He finished the season with 3,535 passing yards and 48 touchdowns with 41 of them coming through the air. He came close to setting single season records in all three categories, but fell short of Nate Sudfeld’s 3,573 yards.

That success catapulted him to the top of draft boards and made Friday’s announcement all but a formality. The Hoosiers already lined up his replacement by landing former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover out of the transfer portal.

Hoover will have big shoes to fill with Mendoza proving just as popular off the field in Bloomington as he was on it.

He was a very public presence, from dining out in the city on a weekly basis to partnering with local establishments to raise funds for the MS Society. The cause was a personal one for Mendoza with his mother, Elsa, battling the disease.

She inspired the positive outlook that he displayed in his interviews throughout the season that regularly went viral.

“Fernando never ceases to amaze me, he’s so deep, he’s so intelligent, he’s such a good and caring, giving person,” Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said earlier this season. “He’ll be a huge success in anything he decides to do one day when football ends. He’s just a special, unique person. And it’s all real.”

What were Indiana football QB Fernando Mendoza stats in 2025?

Mendoza threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns to six interceptions while completing 72% of his pass attempts. He finished the season with the highest quarterback rating (182.9) in the country.

According to Pro Football Focus, he completed 29 passes of 20-yards or more through the air for 955 yards with 11 touchdowns.

Who will start at quarterback for Indiana football in 2026?

Barring something unforeseen, Hoover will be QB1. There was room for a little intrigue if Alberto Mendoza stuck around, but he entered the transfer portal on Tuesday morning and has since signed with Georgia Tech. His departure will likely force IU to search the transfer portal to land a backup with experience.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

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Indiana

Police arrest suspect in Westfield homicide

Published

2 hours ago

March 27, 2026

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Police arrest suspect in Westfield homicide

WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Police have arrested someone in connection to a homicide earlier this month in the Hamilton County city.

In a Friday night social media post, the Westfield Police Department announced the arrest but gave no details, including who was arrested or what preliminary charges the person may face.

“Due to the active nature of this case, limited details are available for release at this time,” the post said.

As WISHTV.com previously reported, James “Matt” Lushin, 47, was found dead shortly after 7:25 p.m. March 12 with trauma at his home in the 3900 block of Westfield Road, also known as State Road 32.

Social media posts from the scene showed police tape and emergency vehicles at a red brick house between Shady Nook Road and Gray Road.

Lushin’s obituary said the Kokomo native was a key partner with the real estate investment company, FLF Property. The obituary also said, “Matt was also a respected and accomplished member of the international poker community. He traveled the world competing in tournaments and built an impressive and successful career.”

Police have previously said the death was believed to be isolated, posing no ongoing threat.

Officials have not released a specific cause or manner of death.

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Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Published

14 hours ago

March 27, 2026

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Retro Indy: Five years ago Covid confined March Madness to Indiana

Just three days before Selection Sunday in March of 2020, the NCAA announced that March Madness, like so many other events that spring, would be cancelled due to the new virus upending life. The decision marked the first time in tournament history that the final weeks of the college basketball season would not be played, squashing Atlanta’s plans to host the Final Four.

When the following year rolled around, the NCAA decided that March Madness would not succumb to the virus once more.

With a vaccine only on the horizon and hundreds of Americans still dying each day, the organization announced in November of 2020 that while the tournament would go on, it would certainly not be business as usual. All 67 games, NCAA officials said, would be held in one location. Central Indiana was the first choice as Indianapolis had been on tap to host the Final Four April 3-5.

The plan, said NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt in a November 2020 IndyStar article was to present “a safe, responsible and fantastic March Madness tournament unlike any other we’ve experienced.”

In January the NCAA made it official: All games would be played in and around Indianapolis in a modified version of a bubble.

Holding the tournament in one place just made sense, NCAA officials told IndyStar. Unlike in a typical year when a winning team would travel multiple times before the championship, this system would minimize travel, which could inadvertently expose players and coaches to the virus.

Two months later when the tournament kicked off on March 18, 55 of the 67 games were scheduled to be played in Indianapolis venues, such as Gainbridge (then Bankers Life) Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. Purdue’s Mackey Arena and IU’s Assembly Hall also hosted games.

While the first Covid vaccine had arrived a few months earlier, few people outside of first responders and the most vulnerable had been immunized, so in an effort to avoid large crowds, the Indianapolis sites all capped tickets at 25% capacity. That meant only 17,500 people could attend games at the largest venue, Lucas Oil Stadium. The college arenas allowed far smaller audiences, with IU limiting attendance to 500 people.

A week before the tournament began Marion County Public Health Department officials and Mayor Joe Hogsett asked attendees to make smart public health choices, such as social distancing and obeying the face masks mandate. Referees donned masks as much as possible as did coaches and players on the bench.

The NCAA regularly tested athletes, administering 28,311 tests Covid tests during the tournament, 15 of which came back positive.

Post-mortems after the tournament asked whether the NCAA had made the right call. Two high profile deaths occurred in the aftermath of the tournament — one a University of Alabama superfan who had traveled to Indy for the games and the other a St. Elmo bartender. But proving a direct link between their deaths and the tournament would prove impossible, and some public health experts said the NCAA had done everything it could to protect athletes and fans short of canceling the event.

A study conducted by IU, Regenstrief researchers and others that appeared in August 2021 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that while mask wearing had theoretically been compulsory, about a quarter of attendees at the games were either not wearing masks or doing so inappropriately. Still, in an IndyStar article about the study Indiana Sports Corps president Ryan Vaughn termed the event “a resounding success.”

The following year, with a vaccine widely available and far fewer daily deaths from the virus, the tournament returned to a typical schedule, concluding in New Orleans’ Ceasars Superdome. More than 69,00 fans attended the final games, according to the NCAA. Local authorities had lifted the mask requirement by this point.

“Last year was about survival. Just having championships in any way, single site, keep everybody safe and be successful,” Gavitt said in an NCAA news release in late April 2022. “I think this year was about advancing.”

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

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Federal legislation that Braun calls ‘crazy’ is aimed at Bears and Indiana – Indianapolis Business Journal

U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Greg Casar, D-Texas, say the bill would protect taxpayers from being extorted by team owners for huge subsidies. The legislation would likely face an uphill climb in the Republican-controlled Congress.

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