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Taking Stock of the Bronco Mendenhall era

Two weeks ago Brigham Young University announced that it was resigning from the Mountain West Conference and that its football program would compete as an independent while most of its other athletic programs would join the West Coast Conference. With this momentous change looming it seems appropriate to examine briefly the first five years of Bronco Mendenhall’s tenure as head coach of the Brigham Young University football team.

Bronco Mendenhall on the sidelines (Jaren Wilkey/BYU)

Bronco Mendenhall joined the Brigham Young University football coaching staff in 2003 as defensive coordinator under Gary Crowton. Mendenhall replaced Crowton as head coach of the football program in 2005 and, after a lackluster initial campaign (6-6), has led the Cougars to four highly successful seasons (11-2, 11-2, 10-3, 11-2). The Cougars have finished each of the last four seasons in the national rankings with last year’s ranking of twelfth (2009) being the highest. During Mendenhall’s tenure the Cougars have never finished lower than third place in the Mountain West Conference and have finished first twice in 2006 and 2007. The football program has recorded notable victories over California, Arizona, Utah, TCU, Oregon State, and UCLA under Mendenhall’s direction.

John Beck is carried off the field after throwing a touchdown with no time left on the clock to beat Utah in 2006 (Jaren Wilkey/BYU)

Cougar football players in action, 2008

Cougar football players in action, 2008 (Jaren Wilkey/BYU)

Fans interested in learning more details about the Brigham Young University football program over the last five years should consult the football media guides held in UA 669 (Athletic Media Guides). If you would like to learn more about the collections available for studying the history of football at Brigham Young University, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu

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