Yes, Virginia, That’s Your Head Football Coach Behind All That Facial Hair

By Jerry Ratcliffe

In Greco-Roman times, the beard was a defining characteristic of the philosopher for such notables as Plato and Socrates. In modern times, George Steinbrenner foreboded his New York Yankees to grow any facial hair below the lip.

For Holly Mendenhall, her husband’s beard has created a dilemma.

What started on Nov. 2, when Virginia defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill, has continued into this weekend when the Cavaliers take on No. 3 Clemson for the ACC Championship in Charlotte.

Bronco Mendenhall decided after the win over the Tar Heels that he would grow a “playoff beard,” and keep it as long as UVA kept winning. The Cavaliers haven’t lost since, and the beard has progressed from a heavy five o’clock shadow into a full-blown yupperjack. 

“The beard was contingent on the playoffs and winning,” Mendenhall told media this week. “It started with four regular season games remaining. It’s contingent on success.”

Mendenhall declared the month of November’s games were “playoff games” to him and the UVA program, and borrowing the idea of “playoff beards” from Major League Baseball, he decided to keep the beard as long as his team remained alive.

He has kept it trimmed, admitting that it was becoming “scraggly,” perhaps a little over the top for Holly Mendenhall.

“Holly has mixed feelings about the beard being tied to the outcome (of games),” Mendenhall said. “She is not a fan of the beard, but she is a fan of winning, so she has a moral dilemma.”

Should Virginia somehow upset Clemson in Saturday night’s league championship game, then win its bowl game, exactly what does that mean for the future of the beard?

“The beard stays when we win,” Mendenhall said. “We beat Clemson, it stays. We win our bowl game, it stays all the way through.”

Uh, that means the coach would continue to grow his beard until next September’s season opener against Georgia.

We’re talking ZZ Top here, gang.

“I’d have to be trimming a lot,” Mendenhall smiled.

Somewhere, Holly is not smiling.