The Indiana Hoosiers football team will visit the White House after its historic undefeated season to win the national championship.
The team is scheduled to make its visit on May 11.
It’s unclear if Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and #1 NFL Draft pick, will attend.
The Indiana Hoosiers — 2025 College Football Playoff national champions — will visit the White House this month, according to a source familiar with the team's plans. https://t.co/8IUiswVRru
— ABC News (@ABC) May 2, 2026
More from The Daily Hoosier:
The tradition of championship sports teams visiting the White House and the president of the United States dates back to the 1800s. The undefeated Indiana men’s basketball team in 1976 was the first men’s college basketball team to attend a White House celebration; college football champions have gone to Washington since Alabama in 1961.
ADVERTISEMENTIU will become the latest group to visit the White House. The Hoosiers sealed their title on Jan. 19, 2026 with a 27-21 victory over Miami (Fla.), at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
This is the first of two prominent public appearances for IU head coach Curt Cignetti in May. He will also drive the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.
According to NBC Sports, Mendoza will pass on the White House visit.
Fernando Mendoza doesn’t plan to visit the White House with Indiana. https://t.co/9oKXt58foC
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 3, 2026
NBC Sports explained further:
The Heisman Trophy winner was asked whether he would take the trip, and his answer incorrectly stated that as the start of the Raiders’ organized team activities. Their OTAs actually begin a week later, on May 18.
“I’m on the bottom of the totem pole here. I’ve got to prove myself,” Mendoza told reporters Saturday. “I can’t miss practice. I don’t have the calendar, but as a rookie, I don’t think that’s a good look. I want to try to best serve my teammates, and I don’t know if that’d be accomplishing that goal.”
After all the hoopla following a Heisman, a national championship and becoming the top pick, Mendoza was eager to get back to it. All eyes were on him as he worked with some of his new teammates at the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend.
“Out of all those great milestones, I’m really happy about these past two days, because it’s back to football,” Mendoza said, via Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
