Quarterback Fernando Mendoza has made headlines for his work on and off the field.
Fernando rose to fame after leading the Indiana University Hoosiers football team to a landmark season in 2025 — earning the school their first Big Ten Championship since 1967 and first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship in January 2026 — but he’s also made it his mission to give back.
Fernando and his younger brother Alberto (who also plays football at IU) teamed up to raise money for the National MS Society in support of their mom, Elsa Mendoza. They partnered with two restaurants in Bloomington, Indiana — BuffaLouie’s and Gable’s Bagels — to launch separate menu items with proceeds going directly to the National MS Society.
“My mom means the world to me — she’s the most caring and positive person I know — and I’ll keep doing everything I can to support her and others living with MS,” Fernando wrote via the fundraiser’s website. The brothers’ fundraiser has raised nearly $375,000 in donations.
Indiana University Quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s Family Guide
When it came time for Fernando to enter the NFL Draft in April 2026, he opted to do so from his home in Florida.
“Pittsburgh is a great opportunity and it’s a great venue, and I’m really excited to see most of the guys walk across the stage on Thursday night,” the athlete said on the Rich Eisen Show. “It’d be a dream for a lot of guys, however, my mom really wanted to do it at home, and so did my parents.”
He added, “It was a lot easier for us, especially with the family situation, and I would have to hop on a plane the next morning anyways. For that travel, it would be a lot easier to stay at home.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about Elsa Mendoza’s MS battle:
Who Is Elsa Mendoza?
Fernando’s mom, Elsa, is also the mother to Alberto and Max Mendoza. She previously played tennis at the University of Miami.
When Was Elsa Mendoza Diagnosed With MS?
According to a December 2025 letter she wrote for the Players Tribune, Elsa revealed that she was diagnosed “about 18 years ago.” However, she and husband Fernando Mendoza Sr., decided not to share the news with their sons until years later.
“You and Alberto were so young, and I was doing fine,” Elsa wrote to Fernando. “And mostly, I didn’t want you to worry. It just felt like this impossible thing to place on you guys. On my sweet boys.”
When Did Fernando Mendoza Find Out About His Mom’s MS?
Elsa wrote that “about 10 years ago” she broke her ankle and knee in a skiing accident, but she still didn’t share the news about her MS. That came later.
“Even after that, I wasn’t quite ready to tell you — only that my leg hadn’t healed all the way, which is why your mom had her limp,” she wrote. “It wasn’t until five years ago, when I got Covid, that things started to go downhill in a way where there was no more hiding it.”
She continued, “That’s when I knew we had to sit you and your brother down. No amount of years could have prepared me for how hard of a conversation it ended up being.”
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What Treatments Has Elsa Mendoza Had for Her MS?
The same Players Tribune post revealed that Elsa “had to do chemo” at one point during her health battle.
“When you have to carry me up the stairs … you’ve always kept that same spark in your eye,” she wrote to her son. “No matter what kind of state I’ve been in, or day I’ve been having — you’ve never once looked away. You’ve never once treated me like I’m embarrassing, or deficient, or anything other than someone you love and are standing by.”
She added, “Even as my condition has gotten worse, and as our lives continue to change around that fact: You manage to make me feel like I’m still every part of myself.”
