PROVO — It sounds like the far-fetched plot of some romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

A young man and a young woman attending colleges separated by 450 miles are lined up by a mutual friend. The pair begin a long-distance relationship. After about a year, they decide to break up. For an entire decade, they have no contact with each other, until fate brings them together at an airport terminal. Sparks fly, kismet takes over and they end up — naturally — getting married.

This is no Hollywood script, however. It's the true story about the courtship of BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall and his wife, Holly (more about that later).

What may be even more far-fetched than that, though, is Holly landing the role as First Lady of Cougar Football — not exactly something she had aspired to be. "It was the furthest thing from my mind," she says.

Holly Mendenhall never had much interest in football and, in some respects, she still doesn't. "I'm the least knowledgeable of any wife on the coaching staff," she admits. "After eight years (of marriage), maybe I won't get it. People try to hit me up for information (about BYU football), and I have no idea. I care, but I don't care."

The public may view her only as Bronco Mendenhall's wife, but Holly is an accomplished woman in her own right.

She is the mother of three young, energetic boys and a graduate from the University of Montana with a degree in French. For a time, before her marriage, she owned and ran her own travel agency. For 10 years she worked at a dude ranch in Montana, coordinating conferences. While in college, she kayaked a river in Mexico and spent a semester picking grapes at a winery in France. "There I was, a Mormon girl who had never touched alcohol," she recalls with a laugh. After graduation, she worked at Euro Disney in Paris for six months in its inaugural year. A couple of years ago, she authored, and self-published, a book about budgeting. She is also an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys camping, hiking and bike-riding.

Holly Mendenhall loves adventure and thrives on challenges. No, you won't see her at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturdays this fall shouting at the referees, and, no, you won't see her breaking down X's and O's. She's not that kind of coach's wife.

And that's one of the things Bronco loves about her.

"She likes to go to the games but really doesn't know what's going on," he says. "She knows who's on offense and who's on defense. She just goes to support me and whatever team I'm coaching. Holly's interest is one of support rather than a student of the game. Nor does she have a desire to learn the intricacies of the game. She wants to know the coaches' wives, the players' wives, and what's going on in their lives. She's very concerned about that part and trying to fulfill whatever role she needs to in that regard. But the actual game itself is just something fun to go to."