Bronco tells ACC that Virginia won’t play on Dec. 19

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Bronco Mendenhall sent a strong message to the ACC that he’s always going to do what is best for Virginia when the league requested making up the postponed game with Florida State.

Mendenhall’s response?

“No.”

“We were actually asked by the ACC to play on [Dec.] the 19th and said no,” Mendenhall said. “I don’t think [playing FSU on the same date as the ACC Championship game] added value to our program, or the team we would have been playing in whatever schedule changes we were asked to do.

“I’m mindful of our program, our players and doing the very best I can for them.”

Virginia was supposed to play at Florida State on Nov. 28, and after going to the trouble of delaying its trip until 6 p.m. the night before the game in order to make sure all of the Cavaliers were healthy, FSU called the game off around 10:30 on the morning of game day.

FSU had one player test positive, but due to contact tracing, injuries and opt-outs, the Seminoles said they could only field a team of 44 scholarship players for the game. FSU said that certain positions on the team were heavily depleted due to those missing.

The Seminoles refused to play Clemson the week before because the Tigers brought one player who had tested positive for the virus after arriving in Tallahassee.

By Virginia refusing to go back to FSU, it will cost the Seminoles $2 million in missed revenue for not hosting the home game.

“Having Boston College at home and then Virginia Tech on the road as our last two regular season games, that’s the appropriate finish for our team,” Mendenhall said. “I can’t speak for any others, a lot of times it’s just more than inventory, it’s more just than TV.

“Sometimes coaches and administrations have to speak up and look after the well being of student-athletes who have been here for 23 weeks straight after a 17-week break of not seeing their coaches … so it’s been long,” Mendenhall said.