It’s homecoming for QB Fernando Mendoza, but it brings along mixed emotions. In Miami Gardens, he will face a familiar crowd. A fanbase that once cheered on Mendoza’s father will be on the other side of the stands as he faces the Miami Hurricanes at the national championship game.

“Mario Cristobal played with my dad in high school,” Fernando Mendoza Jr. said recently. “So I do know him, and it’s gonna be a great opportunity for both teams.”

Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza and Miami’s Mario Cristobal meet on college football’s biggest stage on January 20. But their shared history adds another emotional weight to the matchup. Cristobal is a Hurricane through and through. However, during his younger years, he was lining up side by side on the O-line with Fernando’s father, Mendoza Sr., at Christopher Columbus High School in the 1980s.

“There’s obviously a backstory there. I’ve known the Mendoza family,” Coach Cristobal shared in October 2024. “I played with the dad as high school teammates.”

Cristobal continued to pursue his career playing ball at Coral Gables. He helped the Miami Hurricanes to two national championships in 1989 and 1991. On the other hand, his fellow lineman and dear friend went down a different path. He took up rowing at Brown University before pursuing a career in medicine. With his high school teammate chasing national championships, Fernando Mendoza Sr. earned his stripes in rowing, winning the 1987 Junior World Championship.

Now, almost forty years later, Mario Cristobal is facing off against his high school teammates’ kids. Regardless, he’s on his way to the national championship, and Cristobal couldn’t be prouder of what they have achieved so far.

“This certainly was a tremendous job by him and his team,” he had shared after Mendoza Jr. won the Heisman. “It is an awesome family, and they are awesome people, and it was a well-deserved award.”

Although Mendoza Jr. had played high school football in his home state of Miami, the Hurricanes did not extend him a scholarship offer. He was told that he might be able to join as a walk-on. At that time, the Hurricanes failed to spot their gem in the former three-star recruit. Now, the program finds itself battling for the national championship against him.

Besides Fernando, his younger brother, QB Alberto, will also face the Hurricanes at Miami Gardens. As his high school teammate battles against his son’s Indiana Hoosiers, Fernando Sr. will be sitting in the stands, soaking in the emotional moment.

Fernando Mendoza celebrates his Cuban heritage

The Cristobals and Mendozas fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba, arriving in Miami, stitching back their lives. And sports became that binding ingredient that glued the community together. While baseball and boxing found their groove among the Cuban-Americans, Cristobal and Mendoza found their calling on the gridiron.

“My idea was to be able to broaden horizons and show different Cuban communities that it is not just about boxing and baseball,” Mendoza Jr. shared. “Sports we excel at, and that I love. But we can also play American football and any other discipline we want to pursue.”

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To pay tribute to his Cuban lineage, Mendoza gave his Heisman-winning speech in Spanish, honoring his culture. He further touched on Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech) and other players with Latino heritage, who are helping to make college football more inclusive.