Reports: Utah State set to hire Bronco Mendenhall as head coach

Bronco Mendenhall is set to leave one Mountain West school for another, as the New Mexico head coach will take over the same role at Utah State, multiple media outlets reported late Thursday night.

Mendenhall, in his first season as head coach of the Lobos, guided New Mexico to a five-way tie for fifth place in the Mountain West conference, a group that included Utah State.

Mendenhall, 58, posted a 5-7 record this year with the Lobos, 3-4 in Mountain West play. The five wins represented the highest total for New Mexico since a 9-4 campaign in 2016.

When he took the New Mexico job last December, Mendenhall reportedly accepted a five-year deal.

He previously served as the head coach at BYU from 2005-15, producing a 99-43 record, and at Virginia from 2016-21, going 36-38.

Utah State finished 4-8 this season, 3-4 in the Mountain West, while playing for interim coach Nate Dreiling. The previous head coach, Blake Anderson, was fired during the summer amid a school investigation into his alleged failure to report alleged misconduct by members of his team. He also reportedly contacted an accuser and a witness following a domestic violence arrest of a player.

The Aggies reached a bowl game in all three of their seasons under Anderson before finishing below .500 this year. Utah State will not be in a bowl game this year for just the third time in the past 14 seasons.

--Field Level Media