All about Elsa and Fernando Mendoza Sr.

Fernando Mendoza has already made a name for himself in the soccer world and has revealed that he is grateful to his parents Elsa and Fernando Mendoza Sr. for his career.

The quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers is the eldest son of Elsa and Fernando Sr. In addition to Fernando, the couple raised their sons Alberto (also a soccer player at Indiana University) and Max in Miami.

Like their father, Fernando and Alberto attended Christopher Columbus High School. Although his two older brothers did not attend their parents’ alma mater, they followed in their parents’ footsteps by playing collegiate sports.

Elsa and Fernando Sr. are often seen cheering on Fernando and Alberto at Indiana games, and the family of five appears to have a close bond. Meanwhile, Fernando credits his parents for his work ethic and is grateful for their support over the years.

When Fernando won the Heisman Trophy in December 2025, he emotionally thanked his parents, calling his mother his “biggest supporter.” Fernando and Alberto have also worked together to raise funds and awareness for multiple sclerosis, which has affected Elsa for nearly 20 years.

Here’s everything you need to know about Fernando Mendoza’s parents, Elsa and Fernando Mendoza Sr.

Elsa and Fernando were both college athletes

Fernando inherited the sports gene from his parents, who both played sports at their respective universities. According to USA Today and the Miami Rowing Club, Fernando Sr. rowed at Brown University, and Elsa played tennis at the University of Miami.

Elsa later wrote an emotional letter to her son in The Players’ Tribune in December 2025, revealing that she had originally hoped for him to choose a career in tennis.

“My dream was for you to play tennis just like me,” she wrote, explaining that when he was a child, she had him practice tennis in college.

Fernando Sr. won the gold medal at the 1987 Junior World Rowing Championships and was a member of the rowing crew at Brown University, where he studied biology.

He then earned his medical degree from the University of Florida School of Medicine, followed by a residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and a fellowship at Boston Medical Center. According to his bio and LinkedIn, Fernando Sr. currently works as a medical director at Nicklaus Children’s Health System in Miami.

They are the parents of three sons, including Alberto, Fernando’s backup quarterback.

Elsa and Fernando Sr. both grew up in Miami but moved to Boston in their early 20s. While living in Boston, Elsa became pregnant with Fernando at age 25, she wrote in the Players’ Tribune.

Two years later, the family expanded with the addition of a son, Alberto. They are also parents to son Max. Like his brother, Alberto is also a quarterback. Fernando and Alberto each led their high schools to state football championships as head quarterbacks.

“They definitely push each other,” high school coach Dave Dunn told Indiana Public Media in September. “There’s a deep love, but also a competitive spirit that makes each other better.”

In 2023, Alberto committed to Indiana, redshirted the following year, and began playing alongside his brother as a backup quarterback for the Hoosiers in the 2025-2026 season. Alberto later credited Fernando with helping him choose Indiana.

“I think it was great to have a brother who is my best friend and who encourages me the most,” Fernando told the Indy Star in January 2025, according to USA Today.

According to Indiana Public Media, Alberto and Fernando became the first brothers in 10 years to throw a touchdown pass in the same game earlier in the season. The brothers frequently participate in videos and interviews together, including an October 2025 video with JLab Audio in which they joked about their family relationships.

“I think I’m a peaceful Zen person who always calms down the conflicts between us three brothers,” Fernando said, but Alberto interrupted him, saying that was “a lie.”

Meanwhile, Max, who is six years younger than Alberto, has dreams of becoming a sportscaster, as he told Kelsey Nicole Nelson in December 2025.

Elsa was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when the boys were young

When Fernando and Alberto were young, their mother Elsa was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“I was diagnosed about 18 years ago, but of course you didn’t know it,” she wrote in The Players Tribune in December 2025. “You and Alberto were very young, and I was in good health…and most of all I didn’t want you to worry. It felt like I was imposing such an impossible task on you guys.”

Elsa wrote that she didn’t tell her children about her diagnosis until 2020, when things went “downhill” and she realized she couldn’t attend every game.

“Even after all these years, I could never have prepared myself for this difficult conversation,” she recalls. “Your mother has this degenerative disease… We don’t know how it will progress, but it will start to affect us in some ways.”

Elsa praised her son for making the diagnosis “so easy” and for “acting in the kindest, strongest, most Fernando way possible by making me feel the opposite of shame.”

“You made me feel seen,” she continued, citing how he gave her a “full report” on a college visit she couldn’t attend and made her laugh while carrying her up the stairs.

“You always have that same sparkle in your eyes,” she added. “No matter what situation I was in or what my day was like, you never once looked away. You never once treated me like I was embarrassing, or flawed, or anything other than someone you loved and was there for.”

Fernando and Alberto’s football profile has skyrocketed in recent years, and they have used their platform to raise awareness for MS and launch several fundraising campaigns. They have set up a fundraising page through the National MS Society, which has raised more than $100,000 as of early January 2026.

“My mother means the world to me. She is the most caring and positive person I know. I will continue to do everything I can to support her and others living with MS,” Fernando wrote in the caption.

In addition to the national initiative, Fernando and Alberto have collaborated with several restaurants to create menus, the proceeds of which are donated to the National MS Society.

Fernando says his mother is his “biggest supporter”

Fernando and his family have had no shortage of emotional moments in public. On December 13, 2025, Fernando received the prestigious Heisman Trophy and shed tears as he dedicated the honor to his mother in a speech.

“Mami, this is my trophy as well as yours,” he said. “You will always be my biggest fan. You are my light, you are my reason, you are my biggest supporter. Your sacrifice, courage, and love, those were my first strategies and they are strategies I intend to keep by my side throughout my life.”

Fernando continued, “You taught me that toughness doesn’t have to be loud, it can be quiet and strong. It’s about choosing hope. It’s about believing in yourself even when the world doesn’t give you much reason. Together, you and I are rewriting what people think is possible.”

In addition to dedicating the award to his mother, Fernando also thanked his father for taking the time to “ground me” and “hold me accountable.”

“Thank you for reminding me that talent means nothing without training and consistency,” he told his father. “While playing on the team, I am learning to grow as a person, and you embody dedication. You were always there for all of us when we needed you the most.”

Elsa, Fernando Sr., and Max have watched some of Indiana’s recent games, including the 2026 Rose Bowl, where the Hoosiers defeated the University of Alabama.

“I’m really happy for them,” Fernando Sr. told WTHR in a postgame interview. “If anyone is going to do it, it’s going to be Fernando and Alberto. I think the effort and dedication they put into preparing for the game and the love and passion they have for football and for each other and their teammates shows that.”

Elsa called the entire experience a “fairy tale” and said she is “eternally grateful” for the “amazing decision” to enroll her sons at Indiana State.