Mendenhall named Bobby Ross Coach of the Year for second straight season

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia football head coach Bronco Mendenhall has been named the 2019 Bobby Ross Coach of the Year, recognizing the top Division I football coach in the Commonwealth of Virginia by the Touchdown Club of Richmond. He will be honored on Sunday evening at the Dudley & Lanier Awards Banquet in Richmond.

Mendenhall repeats as the Bobby Ross Coach of the Year (Division I) for guiding the Cavaliers to a first-ever ACC Coastal Division title, as well as UVA’s first appearance in the Orange Bowl where they will play Florida from the SEC.

With a 9-4 overall record, Mendenhall has guided the Cavaliers to a third consecutive bowl trip during his four-year tenure in Charlottesville. Under Mendenhall in 2019, UVA won at least nine games for the eighth time in program history.

Mendenhall will be honored Sunday along with QB Bryce Perkins and WR Joe Reed. Perkins was previously named the Touchdown Club of Richmond’s Offensive Back of the Year and Reed was named the Specialist of the Year.

Perkins, the winner of the 2018 Dudley Award, is a finalist again for the Commonwealth’s top football player honor. Perkins can become UVA’s first two-time winner and just the second back-to-back winner, joining JMU’s Vad Lee (2014-15).

The Dudley/Lanier Award Banquet is open to the public and will be held Sunday, December 15, at the Hilton Richmond Hotel, 12042 West Broad Street, 6 p.m. Tickets cost $50.00 each and may be purchased by calling Ron Axselle at 804-310-0222, or by emailing tdclubofrichmond@verizon.net.

Also at this event, the Dudley Award and the Lanier Award will be presented to the top collegiate player in the state with the Dudley Award going to a NCAA Division I player and the Lanier Award presented to a player from a NCAA Division II, III, NAIA and IUSCAA college.

The Dudley Award is named for the late Bill Dudley, an NFL Hall of Famer who starred at Virginia while the Lanier Award is named for Willie Lanier, also an NFL Hall of Famer who graduated from Richmond’s Maggie Walker High School.

The Touchdown Club of Richmond is a sports-social organization that serves to promote the best interests of the American game of football and sports in general, under the guidance of elected officers with the predominate purpose being to recognize worthy athletes for their accomplishments and to encourage them to continue their education and athletic careers.