When Virginia Cavaliers head coach Bronco Mendenhall and Navy Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo meet on the field on December 28 at the 2017 Military Bowl, it will be a meeting of two men who are not only familiar with each other’s work, but who hold the highest level of admiration and respect for each other.
It was evident in their voices — it was more than just coachspeak, it was genuine admiration.
“Bronco’s a really good football coach,” Niumatalolo said. “He’s won a ton of football games. What he’s done at Virginia is not at all surprising, the turnaround that he’s had there.