BYU held a press conference Wednesday regarding athletic director Tom Holmoe’s retirement.
Holmoe spoke on his career at BYU and his decision to leave the school later this year, which was announced on Tuesday.
Holmoe was joined by BYU president Shane Reese.
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The pair addressed Cougar fans about Holmoe’s two decades of leadership and answered questions from media members.
“We want to congratulate Tom and Lori and thank them on behalf of the University for decades of distinguished service,” Reese said. “When we talk on this campus about Christlike leadership, Tom has lived it with our coaches, with our students athletes and with all of Cougar Nation.”
Here are some of the notable remarks made at Wednesday’s press conference.
Tom Holmoe on why he chose to retire
“I made the decision (to retire) in July of this year … Sometime this summer, I just had a really strong impression that it was time (to retire). I’d talked to some people over the years and they would say, ‘You’ll know when the time is right,’ and it was in July.
“And so, at that time, my wife and I talked about it. I went to her and we talked it out and had a little debate, and decided finally after a week that we were on the same page. At that point in time, I told my children, and they said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Look, whether we go 0-12 or 12-0 in football, this is my last season, but we’re not going to go go 0-12.’ I knew it.
“If I would have said something early on, it would have been a big distraction for our football team and our other teams, and through the spring and winter conditioning, my talks with Kalani, I knew that we were going to have a a good football team. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t think we would reach the heights that Kalani and his team reached, but I believed that we were a good team. I saw them work. I saw it coming together and at that point in time, I was just praying that it would come together and it did, it was just a sweet and special year.
“I just believe that this is a really good time to make a smooth, effective and powerful transition. I sincerely believe that the pieces are in place for us to continue to really thrive. The Big 12 has been a special blessing for all of our teams. We all believe in the Big 12 and the leadership of the Big 12.”
Tom Holmoe on his gratitude for BYU
“I thank God every day for the incredible blessing of working at BYU for the past 23 years. I’ve played, I’ve coached, and I’ve administered as a Coug for 30 years. BYU is my home. Our Holmoe family motto is ‘making memories,’ and our collective memory bank is filled with sweet and cherished memories of the thrills of being a Coug.”
Shane Reese on the process of hiring a new athletic director
“We are grateful that Tom has agreed to help us during this transition as we work to a appoint an athletic director who will build on the legacy of Christlike leadership that Tom has set. We’ve already begun the formal search process for Tom’s replacement. This formal search will focus on an individual who absolutely loves BYU — someone who bleeds blue. It will also focus on our distinct mission of both athletic excellence and spiritual development.”
Tom Holmoe on what he’ll miss about his current role
“I really believe I have the best job in the world. I always go down the tunnel to the locker room (after basketball games), and to see Kevin (Young) running towards the locker room (Tuesday night after defeating West Virginia) and to embrace a coach that just fought like crazy to win a game, that’s my bliss. Being at the games, seeing the players coming through and just looking at their eyes after they just had a really difficult, tough loss at Cincinnati and then battled back (to beat West Virginia), how do you beat that? That’s hard to beat.”
Tom Holmoe on the current challenges within college athletics
“There are a lot of new things on the horizon, with revenue sharing, NIL, the transfer portal, the House settlement. That will be an ongoing challenge. I think that the work we’ve done in the last two years is solid. I was with an AD friend of mine last night, and one of the things that we were talking about was how no one’s going to really know how good we’re doing (with these challenges) right now until a year or two or three from now, when you can see how it paid off. There’s been people that thought they were doing it well and it hasn’t turned out too well, but I got a great team right now.
“In the last year and maybe even two, subconsciously knowing that (my current role) was going to come to an end soon, I’ve been turning over a lot of strength and power to my team. I have a right hand man, a wing man, (associate athletic director Brian) Santiago, and I’ve been giving him a lot of strength. We are working every single day to plan for the future. So it’s not like we’re going to start from scratch, we’re down the road quite a bit. They will make adjustments when I’m not here because I’ll be gone, and that’s a good thing to be able to have people look at things in a different way. I’m totally confident that the shifts and the moves and how it changes will happen naturally and in a normal way. We got this.”
Shane Reese on finding BYU’s next athletic director
“We are definitely going to conduct a national search. We are going to cast a broad net with the intent of getting the person who is most passionate, who bleeds blue and is committed to the (school’s) mission.
“Tom talked about this alignment piece, understanding that we’re sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our connection to our board of trustees and having that alignment from top to bottom is an incredible asset. I would call it our strategic advantage. I think it’s part of what led to some of the magic we saw with our cross country teams this year. I think it’s what led to this magical football season that we’ve had. It’s the magic of this athletic program, and I think that alignment matters critically, and so that means that we’ve got to be rigorous in our in our approach for searching for a replacement.
“And really, when we talk about a replacement. I don’t think you ever replace a man like Tom Holmoe. I think there’s a successor in this role, but Tom Holmoe is an irreplaceable athletic director. 20 years as an athletic director, I go around and look at other Big 12 schools, and that’s a rare, rare individual. When you look at the path that we’ve trod to get to where we are as an athletic department through independence to entry into the Big 12, and it’s a remarkable tribute to an incredible career.”
Tom Holmoe on the future of BYU athletics
“I love my beloved BYU, and I believe strongly in our athletic future. I believe in the leaders that are in place right now. The next few years will be very important decision-making times. Key strategies for the future that don’t even exist today will need to be made by a team and a leader that can guide beyond this present day. I don’t want to hold on too long in any way to diminish that greatness which lies ahead for BYU athletics.”
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