NEW ORLEANS (April 11, 2026) – Fernando Mendoza, the star quarterback who led Indiana University to its first college football national championship, was officially presented with the 2025 Manning Award, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the top quarterback in the nation, at a Saturday evening event at Manning's Bar & Grill in New Orleans.
 
Cooper Manning, the oldest son of Archie Manning, officially presented the award to Mendoza. Sugar Bowl President Riley Busenlener also spoke, congratulating the star on behalf of the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Fletcher Mackel, the sports director at WDSU-TV in New Orleans, served as the emcee.
 
The Manning Award, now in its 22nd year, was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that takes into consideration the candidates' bowl and playoff performances in its balloting. The award is voted on by a panel of local and national media, as well as each of the Mannings.
 
"What a joy it's been to watch Fernando throughout this season," said Archie Manning, who could not attend the ceremony while recovering from back surgery. "He excelled on the field week after week, right down to that fourth-down touchdown run in the national championship that will live forever in Indiana history. He also conducted himself so well off the field and in interviews. We're honored to recognize Fernando Mendoza as the winner of the 2025 Manning Award."
 
Mendoza, an All-American who also won the Heisman Trophy and was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, led the Hoosiers to wins in the College Football Playoff (CFP) Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl and the CFP Semifinal at the Peach Bowl before capping the first 16-0 season in FBS history with a thrilling 27-21 win over Miami in the CFP National Championship in his hometown of Miami.
 
"If you're with us here tonight, you know how things went for Indiana and Fernando. A perfect season, the national championship, the first 16-0 season in major college football history, the Heisman Trophy, and so many other honors," Busenlener said. "Fernando, on behalf of the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the city of New Orleans, it's my pleasure to add to your list of accomplishments with this year's Manning Award. Congratulations on your great success, and we look forward to seeing what your future holds in the NFL."
 
In a season with many high points, none will be remembered more than Mendoza's national championship effort when facing a fourth-and-four at the Miami 12-yard line while clinging to a 17-14 fourth-quarter lead. On a designed run, the 6-5, 225-pound quarterback managed to jump over his center for the first down, battled past two Hurricane defenders before running over a third, and then spun and dove for the end zone, taking a brutal hit to the back but holding on for the critical touchdown.
 
"We're honored to continue to work with the Manning family to recognize the top quarterback in the nation," said Jeff Hundley, the chief executive officer of the Allstate Sugar Bowl. "We've had the opportunity to honor some of the best quarterbacks in college football history with the Manning Award. And this year we add to that list with Fernando Mendoza, who capped one of the most memorable seasons in college football history with a great playoff run and a national championship. We look forward to hosting him here in New Orleans for the official Manning Award Ceremony."
 
Mendoza led the Football Bowl Subdvision (FBS) in passing touchdowns (41) and led the Power Four in touchdowns responsible for (passing and rushing, 48). He was also the only FBS quarterback with six games of 4-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
 
Other finalists for this year's Manning Award were Carson Beck (Miami), Kaleb Blaha (Wisconsin-River Falls), CJ Carr (Notre Dame), Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), Devon Campier (Utah), Haynes King (Georgia Tech), Arch Manning (Texas), Drew Mestemaker (North Texas), Dante Moore (Oregon), Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt), Marcel Reed (Texas A&M), Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Ty Simpson (Alabama), and Gunner Stockton (Georgia).
 
In its first 22 years, the Manning Award has recognized the top names in college football. It has honored quarterbacks from 16 different schools and from five different conferences. The Southeastern Conference (Jayden Daniels, Stetson Bennett, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton, JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow) leads the way with nine Manning Award honorees, while the Big 12 Conference (Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Vince Young, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (Cam Ward, Deshaun Watson twice, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston) have each had five winners.

All the Manning Award winners follow in the footsteps of the Mannings themselves. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for over 25,000 passing yards and 201 touchdowns while playing in 10 bowl games and earning four bowl MVP awards. Archie was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, while both Peyton and Eli were selected No. 1 overall.
 
In addition to the Manning Award's yearly honor, each week during the regular season, eight quarterbacks are recognized as Manning Awards Stars of the Week. Sixty-nine quarterbacks were honored during the 2025 season and 609 different quarterbacks from 138 schools have been recognized since 2011.
 
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 114 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 92-year history. The 93rd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will serve as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, will be played on January 15, 2027. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.