Led by former BYU Cougars head coach Bronco Mendenhall, the upstart Virginia Cavaliers football team is ranked 18th in the country as it gets set to face the 10th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon on the road.
According to a story by Irish Illustrated’s Tom Loy, Mendenhall was asked earlier this week if coaching at a faith-based institution like BYU gives him an appreciation for Notre Dame.
Mendenhall replied that it did, and then he expounded upon his time coaching the Cougars, calling the experience “priceless and something I’ll cherish.”
The coach said he recognized it was a special opportunity to mix faith with his job, and noted how many players he coached at BYU grew up wanting to go there.
He closed by discussing the school’s Honor Code.
“So sometimes that doesn’t appeal to just the normal population with what’s required,” he said. “But to me, it was an advantage in almost every way possible.”