Bronco Mendenhall Named Head Football Coach

Courtesy of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Bronco Mendenhall, a 17-year veteran head coach who has twice turned around struggling programs, has been named the 33rd head football coach at The University of New Mexico.  The announcement was made by Vice President/Director of Athletics Eddie Nuñez.  Mendenhall is no stranger to Albuquerque or The University of New Mexico, having served as defensive coordinator and associate head coach for the Lobos under Rocky Long from 1998-2002.

“We are excited to welcome Bronco Mendenhall as our new head football coach,” said Vice President/Director of Athletics Eddie Nuñez. “Throughout this process, we were looking for not just a proven winner, but a leader of men that has a clear vision for what our program can be.  Coach Mendenhall has twice taken over programs that were struggling, turning them into winning, championship programs.  I look forward to having Bronco and Holly here and becoming assets for our great community and leading Lobo Football.”

Mendenhall, 57, served as the head coach at former Mountain West rival BYU for 11 years and at Virginia for six, both times inheriting programs that were coming off a string of losing seasons and turning both into consistent winners.

“After 25 years, Holly and I are excited to be returning to Albuquerque where we have many fond memories,” said Mendenhall.  “We welcome the challenge and opportunity of building a program of excellence. We are excited to get to know the players, assemble a world-class group of people, immerse ourselves in the community and truly make a difference at UNM.”

After leaving UNM in 2002, Mendenhall spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator for BYU under Gary Crowton before being elevated to the head coaching position in 2005.  In his first season at the helm of the Cougars, Mendenhall led BYU to a 6-6 record, returning BYU to a bowl game for the first time since 2001, losing 35-28 in the Las Vegas Bowl to California.

Mendenhall enamored himself to the Cougar fan base in that first season by returning the traditional “Y” to the team’s helmets and more traditional uniforms.  That opening season with BYU in 2005 would be his only non-winning season, as the Cougars reeled off double-digit wins four consecutive years from 2006-09, winning a pair of Mountain West titles as BYU would play in bowl games in all 11 of his seasons in Provo.

In 2006 and 2007, BYU went 11-2 each season and a perfect 8-0 in the Mountain West, finishing the 2006 season ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll and No. 16 in the final Coaches Poll.  In 2007, BYU finished 14th in both polls.  The 2006 squad won its final 10 games including a 33-31 win over rival Utah to end a four-year winning streak for the Utes, a game in which BYU threw an 11-yard touchdown pass with no time left.  Mendenhall was named Mountain West Coach of the Year as well as the Region 5 Coach of the Year by the AFCA.

In 2007, BYU again finished the season off with 10 consecutive wins, and by the time of season’s end, it was the nation’s longest winning streak.  The Cougars again won the Las Vegas Bowl and this time they were able to exact some revenge with a 17-16 win over UCLA after the Bruins won the regular season matchup 27-17.  The BYU defense finished 10th nationally, and overall BYU allowed 16 or fewer points in eight of the team’s 13 games.

The 2008 Cougars again won double-digit games, going 10-3, and Mendenhall became the first Cougar coach to ever go unbeaten at home over three consecutive seasons.  BYU opened the season 6-0 to run its winning streak to 16 straight, moving as high as No. 7 in the polls after a 21-3 win over New Mexico in Provo.  BYU again played in the Las Vegas Bowl, and three Cougars earned Academic All-America honors, a program first.

The following season in 2009, BYU went 11-2, going 7-1 in the Mountain West and 3-1 against nationally-ranked foes.  Included in that was a season-opening 14-13 neutral site win over No. 3 Oklahoma State in Arlington, Texas.  Once again the Cougars excelled on the field and in the classroom.  Two more Cougars earned Academic All-America honors while quarterback Max Hall threw for 3,560 yards.  Running back Harvey Unga rushed for 1,087 yards and tight end Dennis Pitta earned All-America honors as he broke the NCAA record for most career receiving yards by a tight end.

In 2010, Mendenhall took over as defensive coordinator after a 2-5 start and BYU won five of its final six games.  That season culminated in a 52-24 thrashing of UTEP in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, making Mendenhall a perfect 4-0 inside University Stadium.

Mendenhall led the Cougars into the uncharted territory of football independence from 2011-15, starting with another double-digit win season in 2011 as BYU went 10-3, winning a third straight bowl game.  The Cougars finished 22nd nationally in points allowed per game at 20.4, and BYU won nine of its last 10 including a come-from-behind win over Tulsa 27-24 in the Armed Forces Bowl.  The Cougars finished the season ranked No. 25 in the Coaches Poll, giving BYU five seasons under Mendenhall in the final rankings.

The Cougars reeled off three straight 8-5 seasons under challenging schedules that saw BYU face off, and beat, the likes of No. 15 Texas (40-21 and 41-7), Boise State (37-20), Georgia Tech (38-20 and 41-17), Cal (42-35) and Washington State (30-6).  BYU made it 10 straight seasons of bowl games as BYU earned bids to the Poinsettia Bowl in 2012, beating former conference foe San Diego State 23-6.  BYU also faced off with Washington in the 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl and with Memphis in the 2014 Miami Beach Bowl.

In 2015, his final season with the Cougars, Mendenhall led BYU to a 9-3 record that included wins over No. 20 Boise State 35-24 and a season-opening win at Nebraska 33-28.  The Cougars also won seven of their final eight games to finish off the regular season before facing Utah in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.

After stepping down from BYU, Mendenhall took over the Virginia Cavaliers, who were suffering through four straight losing seasons. It took Mendenhall two seasons to get the Cavs back to a bowl game for the first time in six years as his 2017 team went 6-6 in the regular season, earning an invitation to the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman.  He also continued to win games against ranked opponents, beating Boise State 42-23 in Boise, and he continued to win rivalry games, defeating North Carolina in “The South’s Oldest Rivalry” for the first time in eight years.

His next two seasons saw Virginia go 8-5 in 2018 and 9-5 in 2019.  The 2018 squad again won the “South’s Oldest Rivalry” and Virginia picked up another ranked win, beating No. 16 Miami 16-13.  Virginia was invited to the Belk Bowl, where Mendenhall’s Cavs shut out South Carolina of the SEC 28-0.

In 2019, Virginia went 9-3 and won the ACC’s Coastal Division with a 6-2 mark, playing Clemson for the ACC title.  The Cavs went unbeaten at home and defeated Virginia Tech for the first time in 15 years, earning a New Year’s Six Bowl appearance against Florida in the Capital One Orange Bowl. The Cavs finished the year ranked No. 25 in the final Coaches Poll, and defense was again a calling card as the Cavs had three players record double-digit TFLs.

Mendenhall navigated Virginia to a 5-5 mark over the abbreviated 2020 COVID season, passing up a bowl opportunity.  The squad did pick up another ranked win with Virginia winning 44-41 over No. 13 North Carolina.  In 2021, the Cavs went 6-6, finishing third nationally in total offense and 24th in scoring offense before Mendenhall stepped away from coaching. It marked the 16th time in 17 seasons as a head coach that his team was bowl eligible.

The Alpine, Utah native got his start in the coaching world at Oregon State as a graduate assistant after finishing a two-year playing career there as a defensive back in 1986 and 1987.  His two years with Oregon State saw Mendenhall assist with the defensive line.  He moved to the junior college ranks with the highly successful Snow College program, serving as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach in 1991 and 1992.  He then spent two years at Northern Arizona (one as co-defensive coordinator) before returning to Oregon State in 1995 as a defensive line coach.  In 1996, he served as the Beavers’ defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.

After a season at Louisiana Tech in 1997, he came to Albuquerque to serve as Rocky Long’s first defensive coordinator, coaching five seasons from 1998-2002.  UNM’s defense excelled under Mendenhall, earning a quick reputation as a hard-nosed, hard-hitting unit led by safety Brian Urlacher, whom Mendenhall served as position coach for two seasons.

In his first seasons as defensive coordinator, the Lobos had six players earn first team All-Mountain West honors and Brandon Ratcliff was co-Mountain West Freshman of the Year.  Under Mendenhall, Brian Urlacher was twice an All-American and Nick Speegle earned Freshman All-America honors as well.

Over his time with UNM, the Lobos improved from just three wins in 1998 to seven wins and an invitation to the Las Vegas Bowl in 2002. In the Lobos’ 27-13 loss against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl, the Mendenhall-led defense held the Bruins to a season-low 167 yards.

Under Mendenhall, the Lobos led the Mountain West in rushing defense for three straight seasons. In 2001, New Mexico gave up just 87.4 yards per game over the season. In his final season in Albuquerque, Mendenhall led the Lobos to a top ranking against league opponents in total defense, allowing just 316.4 yards per game. The Lobos also led the MWC in sacks in the 2000 and 2002 seasons, totaling 46 and 38, respectively.

Mendenhall and his wife, Holly, have three sons, Raeder, Breaker and Cutter.