Editor’s note: Bronco Mendenhall will become the new head football coach at Utah State. This story was originally published on Sept. 14, 2023.
BIGFORK, Montana — On a recent cool morning in northwest Montana, Bronco Mendenhall was up at dawn, working the ranch he is building with his wife, Holly.
Wearing blue jeans and work boots, the former University of Virginia football coach sported a belt won at a rodeo by his father.
He fed the cows and saddled the horses and welcomed visitors to his riding arena.
Then, still working while he talked, the Latter-day Saint coach shared one secret to his college football success.
Horses — which both he and his wife learned to love in their youth — are a powerful recruiting tool, he explained.
“In the world of college athletics, you’re looking to be distinct and different,” Mendenhall said. The horses “ended up being fantastic in helping us assess and select and determine” prospective athletes at UVA.