In a surprise, Mendenhall steps down at Virginia
Ex-Lobos assistant was 36-38 at school
Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall is stepping down after the Cavaliers play their bowl game, abruptly ending his tenure at the school after six seasons.
“I would love to say there’s been this buildup and a long amount of epiphanies and thought, but clearly this week there was a sense of clarity to me that I needed to step back from college football and reassess, renew, reframe and reinvent, with my wife as a partner, our future and the next chapter of our lives,” Mendenhall said in a hastily organized conference call with reporters.
A popular and successful assistant under Rocky Long at New Mexico in 1998-2002, Mendenhall, 55, said the decision was his alone, and that AD Carla Williams and university president Jim Ryan asked him to stay. He did not rule out coaching again some day.
With two of his children on mission trips for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the third heading to college in January, Mendenhall said he looks forward to spending time with his wife Holly without what he called “the rhythm of a football season” and discovering his next path.
Mendenhall went 36-38 at Virginia, leading the Cavaliers to five straight bowl appearances and their only Atlantic Coast Conference title game appearance two years ago. Virginia also snapped a 15-game losing streak against rival Virginia Tech in 2019, but lost their last four games this season.
The Cavaliers finished the regular season 6-6.
Mendenhall came to Virginia after 11 seasons as coach at BYU. That, too, was a surprising move. The Utah native was 99-43 with the Cougars.
PAC-12: Just 13 days after Utah knocked Oregon out of contention for a College Football Playoff berth, the two teams meet again to decide the Pac-12 champion. The winner of Friday night’s game in Las Vegas, Nevada, will go to the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Don’t expect any wholesale changes for the No. 14 Utes (No. 17 CFP) just because it’s a title game against a recent opponent, coach Kyle Whittingham said. More likely Utah will stick to what worked this season, especially when it comes to preparation and mechanics.
“It’s the execution, the energy and that type of stuff that’s more critical than any minor schematic adjustments that you make,” Whittingham said.
The Utes (9-3, 8-1) have appeared in the Pac-12 title game three times, but have never won the title. Oregon (10-2, 7-2) is playing in its third straight Pac-12 title game. The Ducks have won the last two.
YET ONE MORE BOWL: The NCAA football oversight committee on Thursday approved a waiver to the deadline for bowl certification so another game can be added to this season’s lineup, upping the number to 42 and ensuring all teams that finished 6-6 can play in the postseason.
The additional game, likely to be held in Texas, was a late replacement for the bowl that was scheduled to be played in San Francisco this season. The Redbox Bowl was canceled in early September.
The MAC, Mountain West and Conference USA made the waiver request.
After last Saturday’s games, there were 83 bowl-eligible teams, not including Hawaii, which finished 6-7.
With 41 games, one eligible team would have been left out, most likely one from the MAC or C-USA. Now all the 6-6 teams can participate and there will be room for Hawaii, too. NCAA rules allow 6-7 teams to be eligible for bowl selection if there are no available 6-6 teams.
Having Hawaii bowl eligible allows the Rainbow Warriors to play in the Hawaii Bowl. The Mountain West, Hawaii’s conference, holds an agreement with the Hawaii Bowl, which has already invited Memphis. Having Hawaii eligible to play in its home game is a cost saver for whichever Mountain West school would have otherwise been selected to fill that slot.
NEBRASKA: QB Adrian Martinez announced Thursday that he will enter the transfer portal. Nebraska finished 3-9 and just 1-8 in the Big Ten.
COLORADO STATE: Fiery coach Steve Addazio was fired Thursday on the day his buyout dropped from $5 million to $3 million. He wraps up his time in Fort Collins with a 4-12 record. His tumultuous two seasons included an ejection in what would prove to be his final game for the Rams.
TROY: Troy has hired Kentucky co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall as its head coach, the school announced Thursday night.
Sumrall replaces Chip Lindsey, who was fired on Nov. 21 with one game left in his third season.