Young IU Football fan gets team invite to CFP National Championship game in Miami
By Hernan Gutierrez
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A young Indiana University football super fan is gearing up for the trip of a lifetime this weekend. The team surprised him with an invitation to cheer them on in Miami for the CFP National Championship Game.
Drew Shouse has been a friend of the team for a few years now. He spent the first day of 2026 cheering his Hoosiers on in California at the Rose Bowl.
Earlier this week, he received a special message from his favorite player, IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and his teammates asking him to join them in Florida.
“Hey Drew, we knew you were with us at the Rose Bowl,” Mendoza said in the video message. “There’s no way we could go to the National Championship without you.”
He’ll be there to watch his Hoosiers battle it out against the No. 10-ranked Miami Hurricanes for a national title.
The Decatur County native knows a thing — or three — about battles.
He has a heart condition. At 10 years old, he’s already had open-heart surgery three times.
His mom, Ashleigh Shouse says he spent his first months of life at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.
“He has severe aortic stenosis and mitral valve regurgitation,” Shouse said. “We found out about it when I was 23 weeks pregnant.”
Today, she says most people couldn’t tell he’s sick by looking at him.
In 2023, he was connected with Team IMPACT. The nonprofit matches young children with serious illnesses or disabilities to college sports teams.
Through Team Impact he’s been at IU Football practices and games. He even got to score a touchdown at the IU’s 2025 spring game.
Shouse says her son was a bit shy around the guys at first.
“They would play catch or something like that at practice or whatnot,” Shouse said. “Then he’d loosen up a little bit.”
He’s clearly made an impact on the Hoosiers, too.
Team IMPACT Development Officer Kiernan McGheen says he’s always hearing from student athletes about the program’s influence on their lives.
“They’re able to graduate and go into the world better humans because of their interactions and engagements with the kids that they’re paired with.”
For the Shouse family, it’s been a surreal experience to watch Drew grow up alongside the team.
“It’s just been the biggest blessing to get to be a part of it all,” Shouse said. “We’ve gotten to watch the transition when Curt Cignetti took over. It’s been really cool to see it all go down.”
To top it all off — Drew’s favorite NFL team is the Miami Dolphins who play at Hard Rock Stadium where the National Championship game will be played on Monday.
His family will head to Florida Saturday night.
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