Logan • When Bronco Mendenhall signed on to be the head coach at Utah State University, he carefully studied the leadership around him.
If he were leaving New Mexico, where he turned the program around in a year, he wanted stability and investment. In USU President Elizabeth Cantwell and Athletic Director Diana Sabau, he was convinced the Aggies were committed to going all-in on athletics.
“When expectations and commitment don’t match, frustration occurs. When expectations and commitment match, alignment and trust are ensured,” Mendenhall said the day he was hired. “Utah State wants great football and they want improvement. … That wasn’t through words, that was simply what the numbers looked like. Facts are our friends.”
But before Mendenhall even coaches a game, both Cantwell and Sabau are gone. Cantwell left for Washington State shortly after hiring Mendenhall and Sabau ventured to Maryland for a deputy job this summer.
Mendenhall is left in their vacuum. Does he still believe the commitment is there?
“While the president has changed and the athletic director has changed, the decisions in the meantime have reflected doubling down on the direction rather than stepping away from the direction,” Mendenhall said as fall camp started.
In the last few months, Utah State named Alan Smith as the interim president. Rather than leave the AD chair empty, Smith hired former Penn State AD Sandy Barbour to be the interim. USU also signed Barbours’ firm, Huron, to help ramp up the department for its move to the Pac-12.
Mendenhall took that as a positive, even if it’s different from what he expected in December.
“I really enjoyed visiting with our current president. That’s just been a joy. I also met with our interim athletic director, Sandy Barbour,” Mendenhall said. “And just the experience, having been at Notre Dame and Cal — it is so much fun having points of reference for somebody that connects really quickly. Her interim hire reflected the continuation of the direction we are already going.”
USU will join the Pac-12 in 2026 and Mendenhall acknowledged the Aggies need to improve their name, image and likeness budget. He admitted he’s never spent more time finding new revenue streams for his program — something he didn’t need to worry about when he coached at BYU and Virginia.
He knows his on-field product will eventually need to match expectations. Utah State limped to a 4-8 record last year under interim coach Nate Dreiling. Accordingly, Mendenhall signed 87 new players. A handful will serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the overhaul is underway.
It’s one step of a long road Mendenhall remains committed to, both on and off the field.
“The commitment to the Pac 12, the interim hire, the trajectory and momentum to keep all that going, I haven’t seen one sign that reflects anything other than” commitment, Mendenhall finished. “We might be more committed now than even when I was hired.”
Note to readers: This story has been updated to accurately reflect Huron’s role at USU.