Davey O’Brien Award Honors Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza in Fort Worth More history was made on Wednesday December 10, as Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti and quarterback Fernando Mendoza were honored by the Walter Camp Football Foundation with national of the year awards. The 49th recipient of the award, Mendoza is the first Hoosier to win the prestigious honor and just the fifth to claim the quartet of Heisman Trophy, Davey O’Brien Award and Maxwell Award, along with winning the national championship. Since the Davey O’Brien Award began in 1981, Mendoza joins Joe Burrow (LSU), Cam Newton (Auburn), Danny Wuerffel (Florida) and Charlie Ward (Florida State) to earn all four distinctions.
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, tied for No. 2 on the team with seven rushing touchdowns.
Along with the Davey O’Brien Award, Mendoza claimed the Heisman Trophy, AP College Football National Player of the Year, Manning Award, Maxwell 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.
The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation’s best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The 49th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner was held on Monday Night at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, visit www.daveyobrienaward.com. The Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.
Indiana University Women’s Swimming and Diving Competes in the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis It’s championship season, and No. 6-ranked Indiana swimming and diving is once again ready to showcase top athletes and talented youngsters this week at the 2026 Big Ten Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, February 18-21, inside the Jane K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The meet kicks off tonight at 5 p.m. ET with the 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relays before three full days of action Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Preliminaries will begin each of the final three days at 11 a.m. ET, setting up for finals each evening at 6 p.m. Fans can watch the meet via the B1G+ digital platform.
Indiana is the second-highest ranked group in the conference after moving up from No. 9 to No. 6 in the latest CSCAA poll. They will go up against No. 4 Michigan, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 12 USC, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 22 UCLA, No. 25 Minnesota, RV Northwestern, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue and Rutgers. After a walk-off championship in 2024, the Hoosiers dominated the medal table a year ago in a runner-up finish. This group of Hoosiers – a unique blend of elite returners and freshmen plus talented depth behind them – will look to at least accomplish the latter again this week.
Junior Miranda Grana – one of the NCAA’s top swimmers in both backstroke and butterfly – leads the Hoosiers, boasting four individual times that rank top five in the conference; in the 100-yard backstroke (49.89), 200-yard backstroke (1:49.06), 100-yard butterfly (49.98) and 200-yard butterfly (1:53.25). The 2025 Big Ten 100 fly champ is favored to repeat, as her time in that event ranks No. 1 in the conference. She’ll likely battle Michigan senior Bella Sims and Wisconsin sophomore Maggie Wanezek for the podium spots in both backstroke races. Freshman Alex Shackell will join Grana in the butterfly events, producing top times in both events despite joining the program in January. Shackell ranks No. 3 in the 100 fly (50.98), giving IU two of the top three swimmers in the event. She also ranks No. 2 in the 200-yard event after setting the program record with a 1:52.98 in her debut meet, only behind Big Ten record holder and U-M senior Brady Kendall, coming in at 1:50.72. Shackell’s personal best time from high school is 1:50.15.
Freshman Liberty Clark is a medal threat in the shorter freestyle events, ranking No. 1 in the 100-yard freestyle (46.36) – six tenths quicker than the rest of the conference – as well as No. 2 in the 50 free (21.48) and third in the 200 free (1:41.27). The battle in the 50 free features the two fastest sprinters in program history with Clark and senior teammate Kristina Paegle (21.56), the 2025 Big Ten Champion in the event. Paegle’s time ranks No. 4 in the Big Ten this season. Both will keep IU relays consistently on the podium.
The 200 free projects to be the event to watch at this year’s meet, with Clark seeded only behind the two women that finished IU’s Anna Peplowski at the 2025 NCAA Championships: USC junior Minna Abraham and Michigan junior Stephanie Balduccini. The IU freshman has raced and beaten both veterans in dual meets this season, but her first collegiate championship meet presents a new challenge. Two veterans, junior Macky Hodges and senior Mya DeWitt, give Indiana championship-final-caliber depth in the backstroke events and added strength on relays. DeWitt ranks No. 5 in the Big Ten in the 100 back (51.07) and No. 6 in the 200 back (1:53.30), Hodges No. 5 in the 200 back (1:52.77). In the 400-yard IM, Hodges and senior Reese Tiltmann can potentially lift IU – Tiltmann ranks No. 7 in the events, Hodges No. 12, but both have career-best times better than their seed times coming into the week.
The high-scoring relays can highlight Indiana’s greatest strengths, as the team projects to medal in all five events. Indiana is especially strong in the 400-yard freestyle relay, already tying the Big Ten record (3:08.07) and setting the No. 3 time in the nation this season. Paegle typically anchors the relay behind three freshmen: Clark, Shackell and Grace Hoeper – another Hoosier name to watch in the individual freestyle events. As ever, diving can be a separating force for Indiana. The Hoosiers have All-American veterans in juniors Ella Roselli and Lily Witte, both medalists at past conference championships and have freshman Kaylee Bishop and sophomores Mary Kate Cavanaugh and James Jones in support.
Indiana won its seventh women’s Big Ten Championship in 2024. Six have occurred during IU head swimming coach Ray Looze’s tenure. The Hoosiers have finished in the top three in 19 consecutive seasons with 14 championship or runner-up finishes during that span. IU athletes have combined for 146 Big Ten Championships including 81 swimming titles, 27 relay championships and 37 diving titles.
Indiana University Football’s Bryson Bonds Joins the Football Staff after Forgoing Extra Season Safety Bryson Bonds is foregoing a potential additional season of eligibility to join the IU football staff as a special teams’ assistant. He posted on his social media accounts Monday afternoon. Bonds suffered a season-ending injury on kickoff coverage in week one against Old Dominion. He could have filed for a medical hardship waiver to return for the 2026 season. The longest-tenured safety on the roster in 2025, Bonds was with Indiana since 2020. Bonds played in 48 career games and had 43 career tackles. Most of his action has been on special teams, and he was a key contributor in that role. He made an immediate impression on the IU staff in 2020.
“The one that strikes me as much as any freshman that I’ve seen in a number of years is Bryson Bonds,” then defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said when asked about freshmen that were standing out at 2020 fall camp. The 6-foot and 202-pound Bonds figured to be a key depth piece at safety for IU this season, potentially even filling in as a starter if Louis Moore would have been deemed ineligible in connection with his lawsuit against the NCAA. Bonds follows in the footsteps of 2024 running back Justice Ellison, who joined the staff ahead of the 2025 campaign.
Hamilton Southeastern HS Girls Soccer Player Sloane May Flips her Commitment to Indiana University from the University of Michigan Hamilton Southeastern senior Sloane May has decommitted from Michigan and will attend Indiana next fall. The star forward was named 2025 United Soccer Coaches National High School Player of the Year after leading the Royals to their first state title in November. May registered 15 goals and 17 assists in her senior year. “I’m excited to join IU because I appreciate relationships with my teammates and coaches, and I’m confident in the people that are there,” May told IndyStar on Friday. “They are genuine people, and that’s something I value. IU checked all the boxes of what I’m looking for in a school and I’m looking forward to being closer to home.”
Former Michigan coach Jen Klein resigned in January, prompting May to reopen her recruitment. May said it was “easy” to choose IU, citing her family’s ties to the school as a reason. May’s father, Jason, played football at IU. Her mother, Brooke, also attended the university. May’s great-uncle, Gordon May, was one of 10 Black IU football players who boycotted a practice in 1969 to protest racial injustice. Indiana dismissed the athletes, and the group later became known as the “IU 10.”
”I grew up an IU fan because of my family, so it’s pretty cool to be the third generation heading to IU and to have the opportunity to continue playing sports at the school where both my father and great uncle played,” May said. May will have the opportunity to reunite with former high school teammates Blair Satterfield and Riley Boyd, another reason she decided to play for the Hoosiers. Satterfield and Boyd are currently at IU after graduating from HSE in December. “We had always joked about the ‘what ifs’ of playing with each other past high school once recruiting season came around. Once that ‘what if’ came true, it was pure excitement,” Boyd said. “Sloane and I have played together since we were 3 years old, so going to the college level together is not only a blessing but something we dreamed of since we were kids. “Our relationship on and off the field is very important to me, and our chemistry is unmatched. I can’t wait to see how it will work at the next level.”
May has been focusing on being more attack-minded on the field during club season as she prepares for college. She said she wants to be a “resourceful player” who can contribute in IU’s midfield and forward positions. ”Her soccer accolades speak for themselves, and there’s a great history of her being a high-level soccer player, but what thrills us most is the person she is,” IU coach Josh Rife told IndyStar. “She’s an amazing young lady who goes about her business in the right way and has a true care for her teammates. “You can look at college athletics and sometimes feel it’s become businesslike and transactional, but I think you can be a team with talent and have high character. Sloane embodies those things.” May’s vision validates her coach’s remarks. “Ultimately, I just want to help IU succeed and be someone my teammates can lean on,” she said.
Taylor University Baseball Adjusts Home-Opening Series with Madonna The No. 9 Taylor (10-0) baseball team has updated this week’s home series against Madonna (5-3) at Winterholter Field. The home opener has been moved to Thursday with a 2 p.m. first pitch. Single games will follow Friday and Saturday, both scheduled for 1 p.m. start times. Stay tuned to TaylorTrojans.com for additional schedule updates and game coverage.
Purdue University Men’s Basketball Surges Six Spots to 7th in the Associated Press Poll The Purdue Boilermakers are on the move in the latest Associated Press college basketball rankings. After upsetting then-No. 7 Nebraska on Tuesday and dominating Iowa on Saturday, the Boilers climbed six spots to No. 7 in this week’s poll, making Purdue the biggest mover of the week. The Cornhuskers fell to No. 9, just ahead of the Fighting Illini of Illinois, who despite dominating Indiana on Sunday, lost to Wisconsin earlier in the week. Michigan moved up to the No. 1 spot after Arizona lost their first two games of the season. Then No. 9 Kansas handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season with an 82-78 win on Monday, then Texas Tech made it two straight losses with a 78-75 win in overtime Saturday.
Taylor University Baseball Sweeps Crossroads League Player of the Week Awards Brayden Manning and Jake Boyer were named the Crossroads League Player and Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Monday. The Trojan duo swept the weekly awards after helping No. 9 Taylor (10-0) polish off a four-game road sweep at RV St. Thomas to remain unbeaten. Manning, a senior from Lakeville, Minnesota, finished the week going 9 for 17 (.529) with seven RBIs. In the Game 3 series clincher, Manning delivered the game-tying, three-run homer plus the go-ahead RBI single in his final two at-bats. Manning has hit safely in every game this season, raising his batting average to .478 with an outstanding 1.302 OPS. Additionally, he’s notched multiple hits in four straight appearances, and in eight of the first 10 contests.
Boyer, a senior from Fort Wayne, Indiana, extended his scoreless streak to 13.1 consecutive innings to start the season following his relief outing in Game 1 at St. Thomas. The right-hander struck out a season-high eight batters and scattered four hits across four frames. Boyer retired eight of the final 10 batters he faced to notch his second save of the campaign. TU will open a six-game homestand with upcoming matchups against Madonna (Feb. 19-20-21), IU Kokomo (Feb. 24) and Grace (Feb. 26 DH). Thursday’s home opener against Madonna is scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch at Winterholter Field. The Trojans and Crusaders are scheduled to play at 1 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.