This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall has said many times that he rarely watches college football on television. He doesn't read newspapers or magazines, either, and the only time he reads articles about teams online is when a member of the sports information staff emails him a link to something he might be interested in. He has sports information director Brett Pyne send him one-sentence updates on what's going on at camps of future opponents. That's about it. But Mendenhall acknowledged after Wednesday's practice that he will have to pay closer attention this season. That's because he's now a voter on the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll."You know, it is an interesting story, because the first time I was asked, which was three or four years ago, I declined. And then after I sent my response back, I didn't feel very good about it. I didn't feel like that was right. I was still kinda learning the coaching profession, and didn't know when I was going to find time to do it," he said. "But then I faxed back in after the first time and said I would be willing to do it. And so I am glad to try to help, I guess is the best way I could say it. I think it is kinda service oriented. "I don't spend much time, you know, following. So I will need Brett's help quite a bit, to keep me posted. I am going to watch more than what I have done, which is going to be a change. But I think I need to do my part, just like any other head coach." Mendenhall has mentioned several times that his wife, Holly, has grown into a college football fan/viewer, and sometimes gets him to sit down and watch games when he's free. "She might be the one voting, yeah," he said. Asked if he has a DVR at home, he responded: "I don't know if I do or not. Is that where you can tape it? She knows how to do that. That's bad, isn't it? But it is truthful."