Bronco Mendenhall Greeted With Cheers By BYU Fans Entering LES
Oct 30, 2021, 7:29 PM | Updated: 7:51 pm
Mativa Tupe, presents Virginia Cavaliers head coach Bronco Mendehall with a lei as he and is team arrive for the game against at LaVell Edwards stadium in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – Tonight is a unique dynamic for Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The former 11-year headman at BYU is back in Provo for the first time since 2015.
During his time at BYU, he won 99 games in those 11 years with the Cougars.
Bronco Mendenhall entering the LES visitor locker room for the first time as a head coach.#BYU #BYUFootball #UVAvsBYU
pic.twitter.com/Bc2JqZOFDv— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 31, 2021
Mendenhall isn’t wholly foreign to be in the visitor locker room at BYU. He was once a player at Oregon State that came to Provo and defeated the Cougars, where he then lay on the field and celebrated the moment. Mendenhall also was a defensive coordinator at New Mexico in 2002, that came into Provo and defeated BYU then.
But Mendenhall has never shown up to LaVell Edwards Stadium as an opposing head coach. He is doing that on Saturday night.
When Mendenhall’s 6-2 Virginia squad showed up to LES around 6:25 p.m. (MT), he was greeted by one of BYU’s Event Staff workers with a Hawaiian lei. Before walking into the visitor locker room on the west side of LES, Mendenhall gave a fist bump to one of his original Thursday Heroes in BYU fan Eric Woodruff.
Former #BYU RB Wayne Latu welcomed Virginia staffers Pat Hickman and Justin Anderson, who used to work for the Cougar football program.#BYUFootball @kslsports pic.twitter.com/PyeQsJGNmt
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 31, 2021
The first former BYU staffers to arrive at LES, currently working with Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia, were Patrick Hickman and Justin Anderson. Anderson is Virginia’s Director of Player Personnel. They were greeted by former BYU running back Wayne Latu, who played for Mendenhall in the early part of his tenure with the Cougars.
Virginia assistant Kelly Poppinga also gave a hug to Latu. Former BYU running back and coach Mark Atuaia before walking onto the field at LES talked with a BYU fan for a while, then gave a fist bump to one of the chain gang members for tonight’s game.
Former #BYU RB and coach Mark Atuaia back at LES.#BYUFootball #GoCougs #UVAvsBYU pic.twitter.com/tOcMXzuH5V
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 31, 2021
The connections run deep between these Virginia coaches for the BYU program.
No. 25 BYU hosts Virginia tonight in Provo. This is the first meeting between the two schools since 2014 and the sixth meeting all-time. Virginia leads the all-time series 3-2.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
