THE BILL ITSELF
SR 1812
Indiana University Quarterback Fernando Mendoza
Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SR 1812 By Senator Rodriguez 40-01810A-26 20261812__
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Senate Resolution
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A resolution recognizing the outstanding performance
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of Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza
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during the 2025 football season and congratulating him
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on his election as the 91st recipient of the Heisman
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Memorial Trophy.
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WHEREAS, Fernando Mendoza was born on October 1, 2003, in
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Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in Miami, where he
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attended Christopher Columbus High School and played as a
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quarterback on the school’s football team, and
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WHEREAS, initially committed to Yale University, Fernando
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Mendoza ultimately enrolled at the University of California,
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Berkeley, where he played from 2022 to 2024, and
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WHEREAS, in 2025, Fernando Mendoza transferred to Indiana
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University and became the starting quarterback for the Indiana
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Hoosiers football team, leading the program to a 16-0 record, a
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Big Ten championship, victories in the 2026 Rose Bowl and the
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2026 Peach Bowl, and the program’s first No. 1 seed and national
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championship victory in the 2026 College Football Playoff, and
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WHEREAS, the Miami native finished the 2025 season with
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3,535 passing yards and led the nation with 41 passing
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touchdowns, while also rushing for 276 yards and 7 additional
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touchdowns, and earned multiple major honors, including the
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Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Award, and was named the
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Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, the Walter
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Camp Player of the Year, and the Big Ten Offensive Player of the
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Year and Quarterback of the Year, and
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WHEREAS, on December 13, 2025, Fernando Mendoza was awarded
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the 91st Heisman Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding player
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in college football, achieving a historic victory by leading all
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six Heisman regions in voting and becoming the first player in
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Indiana University history to receive the award, and
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WHEREAS, Fernando Mendoza is the first Cuban American and
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the third Latino to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy, marking a
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milestone for Cuban-American and Latino athletes in college
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sports, and
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WHEREAS, Fernando Mendoza’s achievements have brought
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national recognition to Indiana University and his hometown of
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Miami and serve as an inspiration to young athletes,
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particularly in the Cuban-American and Latino communities, NOW,
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THEREFORE,
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Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
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That the Florida Senate recognizes the outstanding
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performance of Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza
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during the 2025 football season and congratulates him on his
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election as the 91st recipient of the Heisman Memorial Trophy.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
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the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Fernando Mendoza
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as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.