Three-petitive stance: In third season, BYU coach maintains focus on consistency

PROVO — When Bronco Mendenhall took over the battered and bruised BYU football program after the 2004 season, the Cougars were coming off of three straight losing seasons. Morale and confidence were scraping the floor, and people wondered if BYU would ever return to national prominence again.

Now entering his third season at the helm, Mendenhall appears to have altered the course of the program, evidenced by a 2006 season that saw BYU post an 11-2 record, claim an outright conference championship, defeat Utah for the first time in five years, win a bowl game for the first time in a decade and secure a spot in the final national rankings.

"Bronco has done a tremendous job of re-establishing BYU's tradition of football excellence and leading the program back to national prominence," said athletic director Tom Holmoe. "The BYU football program is heading in the right direction and I credit Bronco's leadership qualities for the success we've enjoyed the first two seasons."

That success earned Mendenhall, 41, a raise and contract extension that will keep him on the sidelines through 2011.

Not long after the 2006 campaign ended, Mendenhall directed his thoughts to the 2007 season. He selected "Raise the Bar" as the year's theme, eager to build upon his team's 2006 accomplishments.

"There have been many that have claimed that BYU football is back, and our program has returned," Mendenhall said. "We're just beginning. Our current program, in relation to what it once was, will be viewed as matching or being similar once consistency is established. That comes with repeated championships, with sustained success and with performance at a very high level over time. So, our goals and our objectives now are to provide consistency to the program at the current level at which we're playing."

Said quarterback Max Hall: "Coach Mendenhall was saying that a lot of people have come up to him during the offseason and said, 'That was a great season last season.' That's not what we want. We want to have a great program. That comes with consistency, year after year after year."

Since heightening expectations, Mendenhall has worked his team harder during the offseason than in any previous year. His players have responded well thus far to his "raise the bar" challenge, Mendenhall said.