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The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled the first Fernando Mendoza Bobbleheads featuring the Miami resident who led the Indiana Hoosiers to the 2025 College Football National Championship in one of the most remarkable stories in sports history.
Although Mendoza’s Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes in Miami for the title, sports fans in the region still had something to cheer about with Mendoza’s amazing journey to the pinnacle of college football. The officially licensed, limited edition bobbleheads are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of Indiana University Bloomington and in conjunction with Fernando Mendoza.
Hometown hero Fernando Mendoza quarterbacked top-ranked Indiana to a 27-21 victory over Miami in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, Jan. 19, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Mendoza, who attended Christopher Columbus High School, completed 16 of 27 passes for 186 yards in the title game. Mendoza helped give Indiana a 24-14 lead when he went airborne on a 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 to play.
He became the first Indiana football player to win the Heisman Trophy after completing 72 percent of his passes (273-of-379) this season for 3,535 yard and 41 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He also rushed for 280 yards and seven TDs.
The bobbleheads are now available at the museum’s online store
• The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in August, are now available for pre-order.
• Each bobblehead will be individually numbered.
• The bobbleheads range from $35 to $40 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.
• The first Fernando Mendoza Bobbleheads feature the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in crimson and white Hoosiers’ jerseys, standing in front of a scoreboard, and wearing a suit.
In addition, the Fernando Mendoza Diving Touchdown Bobblehead features the quarterback on a football field-like base with actual turf and bearing his name positioned on a spring making the quarterback airborne as he crosses the goal line while clutching the football in his outstretched arms. The backing of the crimson base features a scoreboard which reads: “HOOSIERS TOUCHDOWN!” along with two IU logos in white lettering.
With the Hoosiers clinging to a 17-14 lead in the 2026 CFP National Championship game, Mendoza delivered perhaps the biggest play in Indiana football history. Facing a fourth-and-5 from the Miami 12-yard line, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti called a timeout. Instead of going for a field-goal attempt to put his team up by six points, the second-year coach put the ball in the hands of his Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. On a designed draw play, Mendoza ran up the middle, bounced off a few defenders, leaped from the 2-yard line and stretched out his hands to put the ball over the goal line while getting battered as he fell into the end zone. The touchdown with 9:18 remaining gave Indiana a much-needed two-possession lead that the Hoosiers held onto for the victory.
“That’s one thing about our team,” Mendoza said on the field after the game. “We’re always going to put it all on the line. I had to go airborne. I’d die for my team. Whatever they needed me to do.”
Born in Boston, MA, and raised in Miami, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza was a two-year starting quarterback for the California Golden Bears before announcing his decision to transfer to play for Indiana on Dec. 23, 2024. In 16 games this season, Mendoza completed 72 percent of his passes (273-of-379) for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He also rushed for 280 yards and seven TDs.
While the Hoosiers faced Miami on its home field, Hard Rock Stadium, the game was a homecoming for Mendoza, who attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.
In addition to becoming the first Indiana player to win the Heisman Trophy, Mendoza, a consensus All-American, also garnered other honors in an award-winning season. He was named first-team All-Big Ten and the Big Ten Most Valuable Player along with being selected as the Big Ten Championship Game MVP. Selected as the AP College Football Player of the Year, Mendoza also won the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and Davey O’Brien Award.
“Fernando Mendoza’s story is one of the most remarkable in sports history and one that fellow Miami natives can be very proud of,” said National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar. “Although it was unfortunate that Mendoza had to beat Miami for the title, we know there are a lot of fans of Mendoza throughout the Miami area that will enjoy having a bobblehead of the hometown star.”
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. First St. in Milwaukee, WI, opened to the public on Feb. 1, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country.
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