With Bronco’s ranch sold, the Mendenhall’s officially leave Charlottesville

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Bronco Mendenhall has officially exited Charlottesville, a little more than four months after he resigned as Virginia’s head football coach.

Mendenhall and his wife, Holly, left town on Tuesday and headed to Montana, according to a source. Mendenhall intended to eventually retire in Montana, although the source did not know if retiring was his immediate intention. 

Mendenhall, who spent free time riding mountain bikes and horses, but also enjoyed activities such as surfing, has been training to compete in a series of four triathlons along with one of his sons.

After only a couple of months on the market, Mendenhall’s “ranch,” which is located in Ivy, has officially sold. The initial asking price for the 28-acre property was $4.875 million. It is a five-bedroom, four-bath home with 6,800-square feet of living space.

Mendenhall kept horses and would often ride them and rope cattle on his property to relieve stress.

The six-year UVA coach, who shocked the college football world with his sudden resignation the week after the Cavaliers’ season-ending loss to rival Virginia Tech, told media that he needed to think about the next step in his life, whether it would be returning to football or doing something else with his life.

He said he wanted to be intentional about “where we re-enter and how and whatever that is.

“I don’t know if it ever would be college football again, but this is the purpose,” Mendenhall said. “There was sense of clarity to me that I need to step back from college football and reassess with my wife as a partner, our future and the next chapter of our lives.”