Bronco Mendenhall Says He Had 'Never Seen' a Fanbase Like BYU’s

Bronco Mendenhall took over as head coach of the BYU football program before the 2005 season. Mendenhall's tenure in Provo ended in 2015 when he took the head coaching job at Virginia. Years later, Mendenhall is back in Utah as the head coach for the Utah State Aggies.

The Aggies recently joined the new-look Pac 12. In an interview with the Pac 12 Network, Menhenhall reflected on his time at BYU, noting that he had never seen a fanbase like BYU's before he became the head coach.

"I remember this vividly at BYU," Mendenhall said. "There was no place I could go. If I was pumping gas, literally someone is going to say something about our team, how I'm coaching, or whatever. The mail man was writing letters on my letters...I've never seen a market so saturated and interested in sport."

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— Hemā Heimuli Jr. (@x_hems) July 14, 2026

11 years and 99 wins later, Mendenhall left BYU to become the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers. At the time, Virginia had one clear advantage of BYU: they were in a Power Five conference and BYU was not.

Fast forward to today and BYU is a proud member of the Big 12. Last December, Penn State tried to pull Kalani Sitake away from BYU. The same BYU fanbase that used to write letters on Bronco Mendenhall's letters delivered what Sitake described as a "love bomb". Fans from across the country expressed their love and appreciation for Sitake and, according to his own comments, those interactions made an impact on his decision to stay at BYU.

Now, BYU is entering its fourth season as a member of the Big 12. No team in the conference has won more games than BYU over the last two seasons. However, the Cougars have fallen just short of the Big 12 Championship two years in a row.

Sitake is looking to deliver what fans could have only dreamed of during the Mendenhall era: a power conference championship. The 2026 season might be BYU's best chance yet. The Cougars return a starting quarterback for the first time since 2022. They also return Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin.

On the defensive side, BYU ranks top 10 nationally in returning production. That returning production, combined with the young talent that has accumulated across the roster, is what BYU is hoping will get them over the hump in 2026.

The same fanbase that stayed engaged during the Bronco Mendenhall years, and remained committed during the decade of independence, waited years for opportunities like the ones BYU has had in the Big 12. BYU fans are hoping 2026 can be the best season in the Big 12 yet.

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