Fernando Mendoza took a chance on himself, transferring to Indiana and winning a national championship after three seasons at Cal — but there are no hard feelings in Berkeley.
Since being drafted No. 1 overall, Mendoza has embraced the demands of the job. He missed a White House visit with his Hoosiers teammates earlier this month and also his commencement ceremony for his undergraduate degree at Cal last Wednesday because he had practice with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Haas School of Business Dean Jenny Chatman made an exception.
At the school’s MBA commencement ceremony on Saturday, Chatman took a pause during the ceremony to make room for Mendoza to walk the stage for his undergraduate degree.
But not without an assessment of Mendoza’s first negotiations coming out of college.
“We have one Haas undergraduate student who couldn’t make it to commencement on Wednesday. So, I hope you don’t mind I invited this person to our MBA commencement,” Chatman said. “He actually had a really good excuse for missing commencement. He used his Haas skills and coursework to negotiate an excellent job and an excellent comp package.
“But he wasn’t able to change his start date when he needed to report to his new job, so can you please help me in welcoming Las Vegas Raider, Heisman Trophy winner, Haas graduate and Cal Bear forever, Fernando Mendoza.”
It becomes full circle for Haas graduate and former Cal QB Fernando Mendoza
The Raiders QB and No. 1 overall draft pick, who got his UC Berkeley undergrad degree at Haas, was finally able to walk at today’s commencement at the Greek Theater pic.twitter.com/4HkDQipcTK
— Thomas Dunn (@Thomasdunn24) May 23, 2026
Applause erupted from the audience as Mendoza walked across the stage to receive his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management, which he finished in 2025 while enrolled and on-campus in Indiana for his master’s degree.
The Miami native led the Hoosiers to an unbeaten season and a national title en route to becoming the Raiders’ hopes for a future franchise quarterback.
But it all started in Berkeley.
“To my Cal family, thanks for being the first to believe in my future,” Mendoza said at his Heisman ceremony. “Thanks for the opportunity. Thanks for educating me, giving me the foundation that enabled me to grow into the person I am today.”
Contact Trevor Squire at tsquire@reviewjournal.com Follow him at @trevordsquire on X.
