Indiana University Athletics
Maxwell Football Club Honors Cignetti, Mendoza with National Awards
3/14/2026 10:00:00 PM | Football
ATLANTA – For the second time in 2026, Atlanta had a distinctly cream and crimson feel as the Maxwell Football Club presented its two highest season honors to Hoosiers on Saturday (March 14). Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti and quarterback Fernando Mendoza were each honored by the organization with the Geroge Munger Award and Maxwell Award, respectively.
Cignetti earned the George Munger Award, given to the organization's national coach of the year. He has won 14 of the 17 national coach of the year awards he was eligible to win between the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The second-year Hoosier headman is the first FBS coach to win consecutive national coach of the year awards from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press, ESPN Home Depot, The Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation.
He is the first-ever Division I head coach to start 10-0 in consecutive seasons at different schools. (James Madison, 2023; Indiana, 2024) and is one of three coaches all-time to begin his Power 4 coaching career with consecutive 10-0 starts. His first two Indiana teams own the only double-digit win seasons in program history (11 – 2024; 16 – 2025), and the 16-0 record tied the 1894 Yale squad for the best record in college football history.
A program-best 12 All-America selections over his two seasons include two-time honorees Aiden Fisher and D'Angelo Ponds, while IU claimed four conference specialty awards in 2025: Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year (Mendoza), Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year (Carter Smith) and Bakken-Anderson Kicker of the Year (Nico Radicic).
Mendoza led the nation in passing touchdowns (41) and touchdowns responsible for (48), both set IU single season standards. He is the third Big Ten quarterback since 2000 with three-straight games of at least four passing touchdowns and zero interceptions - C.J. Stroud (Ohio State; 2021) and Kyle Orton (Purdue; 2004, four straight). The Miami, Florida, native was also the only FBS quarterback since at least 1996 with multiple games of at least 90 percent completion and four touchdown passes versus Power 4 opponents.
In 2025, Mendoza was the lone FBS quarterback with five games of 4-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions and paced the FBS in percentage of passes that resulted in a touchdown at 10.8%, over one point higher than the next closest passer (Julian Sayin, Ohio State; 9.2%).
He threw a touchdown pass in 14 of 16 games in 2025 and posted five games with both a passing and rushing touchdown. He threw 41 touchdowns to just six interceptions and tied for No. 2 on the team with seven rushing touchdowns.
Along with the Maxwell Award, Mendoza claimed the Heisman Trophy, AP College Football National Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award, Manning Award, Walter Camp Award, Hispanic Football Hall of Fame College Player of the Year and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football.
He was a consensus All-America, earned Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year. The third Hoosier to earn Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year with Anthony Thompson (1988 & 1989) and Antwaan Randle El (2001), Mendoza was the seventh IU signal caller and first since Randle El in 2001 to earn first-team All-B1G honors Since 1950, he is just the third Hoosier to claim the first team spot at quarterback along with Randle El and Harry Gonso (1967).
He was the Big Ten Championship Game MVP, Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Offensive MVP and College Football Playoff National Championship Game Offensive MVP. His play in the postseason also earned him the quarterback nod on the AP All-College Football Playoff Team.
Cignetti earned the George Munger Award, given to the organization's national coach of the year. He has won 14 of the 17 national coach of the year awards he was eligible to win between the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The second-year Hoosier headman is the first FBS coach to win consecutive national coach of the year awards from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press, ESPN Home Depot, The Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation.
He is the first-ever Division I head coach to start 10-0 in consecutive seasons at different schools. (James Madison, 2023; Indiana, 2024) and is one of three coaches all-time to begin his Power 4 coaching career with consecutive 10-0 starts. His first two Indiana teams own the only double-digit win seasons in program history (11 – 2024; 16 – 2025), and the 16-0 record tied the 1894 Yale squad for the best record in college football history.
A program-best 12 All-America selections over his two seasons include two-time honorees Aiden Fisher and D'Angelo Ponds, while IU claimed four conference specialty awards in 2025: Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year (Mendoza), Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year (Carter Smith) and Bakken-Anderson Kicker of the Year (Nico Radicic).
Mendoza led the nation in passing touchdowns (41) and touchdowns responsible for (48), both set IU single season standards. He is the third Big Ten quarterback since 2000 with three-straight games of at least four passing touchdowns and zero interceptions - C.J. Stroud (Ohio State; 2021) and Kyle Orton (Purdue; 2004, four straight). The Miami, Florida, native was also the only FBS quarterback since at least 1996 with multiple games of at least 90 percent completion and four touchdown passes versus Power 4 opponents.
In 2025, Mendoza was the lone FBS quarterback with five games of 4-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions and paced the FBS in percentage of passes that resulted in a touchdown at 10.8%, over one point higher than the next closest passer (Julian Sayin, Ohio State; 9.2%).
He threw a touchdown pass in 14 of 16 games in 2025 and posted five games with both a passing and rushing touchdown. He threw 41 touchdowns to just six interceptions and tied for No. 2 on the team with seven rushing touchdowns.
Along with the Maxwell Award, Mendoza claimed the Heisman Trophy, AP College Football National Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award, Manning Award, Walter Camp Award, Hispanic Football Hall of Fame College Player of the Year and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football.
He was a consensus All-America, earned Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year and Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year. The third Hoosier to earn Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year with Anthony Thompson (1988 & 1989) and Antwaan Randle El (2001), Mendoza was the seventh IU signal caller and first since Randle El in 2001 to earn first-team All-B1G honors Since 1950, he is just the third Hoosier to claim the first team spot at quarterback along with Randle El and Harry Gonso (1967).
He was the Big Ten Championship Game MVP, Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Offensive MVP and College Football Playoff National Championship Game Offensive MVP. His play in the postseason also earned him the quarterback nod on the AP All-College Football Playoff Team.
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