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Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, took time away from the Las Vegas Raiders to turn his tassel, and perhaps, show off his arm by flinging his cap in a graduation ceremony this weekend.
But it wasn’t at Indiana’s commencement ceremony – he went back to Cal.
Mendoza, who missed a White House visit with his Hoosiers teammates earlier this month to focus on his time with his new NFL squad, was a part of Cal’s MBA commencement ceremony on Saturday after previously missing their undergraduate ceremony this past Wednesday.
Once again, Mendoza didn’t want to leave his Raiders teammates, but Jenny Chatman, dean of the Haas School of Business at Cal, made an exception for the man who completed his degree at Cal.
During the ceremony, Chatman paused to share the surprise that Mendoza would be able to walk the stage for his undergraduate degree.
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“We have one Haas undergraduate student who couldn’t make it to commencement on Wednesday. So, I hope you don’t mind I invited this person to our MBA commencement,” Chatman told the crowd. “He actually had a really good excuse for missing commencement. He used his Haas skills and coursework to negotiate an excellent job and an excellent comp package.
“But he wasn’t able to change his start date when he needed to report to his new job, so can you please help me in welcoming Las Vegas Raider, Heisman Trophy winner, Haas graduate and Cal Bear forever, Fernando Mendoza.”
The surprise led to a great number of cheers for Mendoza who, as always, had a bright smile on his face as he walked across the stage and accepted his degree in business administration and management.
Mendoza finished that degree while enrolled in a master’s program at Indiana in 2025.
During that time tackling two workloads with two different schools, Mendoza was also leading the Hoosiers to a historic undefeated season under head coach Curt Cignetti, ultimately leading to a national championship victory in his home Miami against his hometown Miami Hurricanes.
It was during the undefeated season that Mendoza cemented himself as the top quarterback option in this year’s draft, and the Raiders, a team desperate for a quarterback of the future, confirmed all predictions that he would go first overall this past month.
Now, his focus is on how he can impact his new franchise, whether he’s starting or not. Veteran Kirk Cousins is also on the quarterbacks depth chart in “Sin City,” and new head coach Klint Kubiak has mentioned the ideal scenario where Cousins starts Week 1, with Mendoza developing and learning behind him before taking over under center.
It’s because of that focus Mendoza said he wouldn’t be joining his Hoosier teammates in the nation’s capital for a White House ceremony celebrating their national championship.
President Donald Trump revealed that Mendoza did call him and they had a conversation.
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“He called me and explained why he couldn’t be here,” Trump told the group at the White House during the ceremony.
“If he was not here for any other reason. If he did not like Trump, I would not have mentioned him for any other reason. I like him, he’s actually a big fan of what we’re doing … Fernando couldn’t be here today because he’s now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. I hope he does good.”
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