On January 19, 2026, the Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 to win their first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship. Playing at Hard Rock Stadium in the Miami Gardens, they finished out their perfect 16-0 season. Fernando Mendoza sealed their victory with a 12-yard touchdown in the final quarter. Previously a program that held the record for the most losses, their head coach Curt Cignetti helped them to win exactly 50 years after the school’s last undefeated basketball championship.
The Hoosiers came from humble beginnings, and have not done well in college football since their start.
In the fall of 1885, a Yale graduate, Arthur B. Woodford, came to Indiana to teach at Indiana University, and soon introduced football to the school. He coached the football team from 1887 to 1888. For many years after that, the school struggled to keep a football team with the amount of losses and lack of fans.
In 1945, the Hoosiers got their first Big Ten Title after defeating Purdue 26-0 under coach Bo McMillin and playing a 9-0-1 season. The same year, Bo McMillin was named national coach of the year and the Football Writers Association Man of the Year. In 1951, Bo McMillin was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
In 1965, John Pont was appointed head football coach. In 1967, he led them to the Rose Bowl by defeating Purdue. In 1968, in their first ever trip to the bowl, they lost after USC’s O.J. Simpson rushed for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns.
However, this past season has been life-changing for Indiana University football.
First of all, their final record for their games was 16-0, and they were the first team to go undefeated in 16 games. Then, they won the Big Ten Championship, and defeated Ohio State 13-10, which they haven’t since 1967.
This year, their quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, won the Heisman Trophy, the first for their school. The Heisman Memorial Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college football. Established in 1935, it is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. It is named after John Heisman, a legendary player and coach. Before this year, no player at Indiana University had ever been given this trophy.
Then, the Hoosiers went to the Rose Bowl. The last time the team went to the Rose Bowl was in 1968, when they lost against USC. However, this New Year’s Day, they won the Rose Bowl, defeating Alabama Crimson Tide 38-3.
The final cherry on top was the National Championship. At Hard Rock Stadium, the Indiana Hoosiers won against the Miami Hurricane, beating them 27-21. Their win, however, wasn’t easy. At half-time, the score was tied 14-14. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Indiana led by only three, with a score of 17-14. Fernando Mendoza, their quarterback, helped them to solidify their win by delivering a 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4, where he went airborne to cross the goal line.
Miami had a final chance to win in the closing minute, but Indiana’s defensive back Jamari Sharpe, who is originally from Miami, intercepted their quarterback Carson Beck with 44 seconds remaining to seal the title. Following the game, Sharpe said that he had not been recruited by the Miami Hurricanes when he was coming out of high school, and that he used that as motivation during the game.
The team’s coach, Curt Cignetti, has definitely benefited from the team’s win. He earned a $2 million bonus for winning the national title, making his total pay for the 2025 season approximately $14 million. A unique clause in his contract also required Indiana to renegotiate his deal if the team reached the CFP semifinals. This win solidified his status as one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, with his average annual salary expected to exceed $12.5 million from now on.
Overall, it’s been a great 2025-2026 season for Indiana University’s Hoosiers. They finished the year with a perfect record, a Big Ten Title, a Rose Bowl win, a Heisman Trophy, and a College Football National Championship win.
