Will Mack Brown Take Mayo Bath if North Carolina Wins Duke’s Mayo Bowl?

Tradition says the winning coach of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl takes a mayonnaise bath. Despite hating mayonnaise as a condiment, WVU head coach Neal Brown is all in. But what about if North Carolina wins? Will we get to then see mayonnaise dumped all over Mack Brown?

It actually sounds like Mack Brown, a coach who has lifted a trophy after winning a National Championship once before, is not totally sold on the mayo bath. Let’s compare what both coaches had to say when directly asked if they would succumb to the mayo bath.

“Yes, I will gladly take the (mayo) bath for a ninth win,” Brown said after first pleading the fifth on if he likes mayonnaise in general. WVU director of athletics Wren Baker even agreed to take a mayo bath of his own after contributions to the Country Roads Trust NIL collective reached a certain amount. He also confirmed West Virginia’s head coach absolutely hates mayonnaise in general.

Neal Brown Agrees to Take Mayonnaise Bath if WVU Wins Duke’s Mayo Bowl

But conversely, Mack Brown refused to actually answer yes or no when the question about the mayo bath was brought up. He, instead, went on a rant about what an opposing coach said about his players back in November.

Now unlike the younger Brown, this is not the first time Mack Brown has had to answer this exact question. He also led North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in 2021. At that time, he did give a response.

“Let someone hit me with a frying pan 365 days if we won. Mayonnaise is easy,” said Mack Brown leading up to the game two years ago. Unfortunately for Brown, his team lost to South Carolina and it was his counterpart Shane Beamer enjoying mayonnaise all over his body.

Mack Brown on taking a @DukesMayoBowl bath if he wins. "We need to win. I said somewhere I'd let someone hit me with a frying pan 365 days if we won, mayonnaise is easy." #UNC

— Pat Welter WRAL (@PatrickWelter) December 22, 2021

This adds some intrigue to postgame coverage if the Tar Heels complete the upset. Will Mack Brown be the first coach to literally refuse the mayo bath?

While it’s funny to see any coach take a bath of mayonnaise, Mack Brown would be the most accomplished participant yet. In fact, he would be the first College Football Hall of Famer to endure it. He was inducted in 2018.

Mack Brown has 282 total wins in his career, a 14-11 record in bowl games, has been named a conference Coach of the Year several times across multiple conferences, has two Big 12 tiles and one of the most memorable National Championship wins ever on his resume.

The 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl marks the 40th bowl appearance for West Virginia, with North Carolina now the opponent in three of those 40 contests. The only matchups between WVU and UNC throughout history have been bowl games.

In this matchup, the 8-4 (6-3) Mountaineers will represent the Big 12 and meet a 8-4 (4-4) North Carolina Tar Heels team out of the ACC.

West Virginia will meet North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte on Dec. 27. The game will kickoff at 5:30 pm ET and be broadcast on ESPN. WVU opened as a slight favorite over UNC.