President Shane C. Reese
Opening Statement
“I really want to start today by congratulating Tom and Lori and thank them on behalf of the university for decades of distinguished service. When we talk on this campus about Christlike leadership, Tom has lived it with the coaches, the student-athletes and students. We have 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. We will also focus on our distinct mission of both athletic excellence and spiritual development. In Spencer W. Kimball’s prophetic address about BYU’s second century, he said ‘Until we have climbed the hill just before us, we are not apt to be given a glimpse of what lies beyond. The hills ahead are higher than we think.’ Tom has climbed some remarkable hills, I would even suggest mountains, during his time as athletic director. In this exciting era of BYU sports, there are mountains ahead. BYU and BYU Athletics will always be unique in its mission and how we compete and conduct ourselves, and we are grateful for Tom’s example of commitment to BYU’s spiritual mission and athletic excellence that form the foundation for BYU’s exciting future. Again, we express our gratitude to you, Tom, and your family, and congratulate you on your next chapter. Go Cougs!”
BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe
Opening Statement
“When I retired from playing for the San Francisco 49ers at the age of 30, my Dad remarked to me, ‘You are the luckiest guy in the world. You have not had to work a day in your life.’ I believe that what he meant was that, if you love what you do at your job and you love the people that you work with, and together you create success, can you really call that work?”
“I thank God every day for the incredible blessing of working at BYU for the past 23 years. I’ve played, I’ve played coached and I’ve administered as a Cougar for 30 years. BYU is my home. Our Holmoe family motto is: ‘Making Memories.’ Our collective memory bank is filled with sweet and cherished memories of the thrills of being a Cougar.”
“I count it a miracle that someone who knew nothing about BYU or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as a sophomore in high school growing up in Southern California, could, one: find my way onto a team coached by the legendary LaVell Edwards. Two: line up with first class teammates in every respect of the word. Three: meet and marry my dream girl, Lori. Four: get exposure at BYU to be drafted into the NFL. Five: return to coach the Cougars for two years which led to jobs at Stanford, Cal and the 49ers, only to return to BYU for a third time to become the Athletic Director. “
“I can only say that BYU has blessed my life immensely. I was passed the baton to play the role of BYU’s Athletic Director in 2005. I knew at the time that it would not be my duty to finish the race or break the tape, but instead to run a good race and be prepared to pass that baton to the next BYU Athletic Director at the right time. I believe this is the right time.”
“In 2005, when I first received the baton, we were already pretty darn good at BYU, and had been for a few decades. But with the addition of some amazing coaches and a constant, steady stream of remarkable student athletes, we got better. You add to that, a fanbase, well, to forever, called Cougar Nation. A student section at games that’s second to none, the ROC. Donors and sponsors that not only support the Cougars financially but willingly and effectively teach us, players, coaches and administrators career, business and life strategies. We have with all that, a cheat code for success.”
“In my nine years with the 49ers, I learned firsthand that to keep a franchise at the top, the leaders of the organization could not allow players and coaches to their valued positions while they were in the downturn of their careers. It was a tough pill to swallow for all of us that had to move on. But, the 49er organization remained at the top for 20 years. 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 and in any way diminish that greatness which lies ahead for BYU Athletics.”
“So far, in my remarks today, I’ve used the pronoun “I” far too much. My story at BYU, from my freshman year in 1978 to today, is unquestionably about “we.” We, our student athletes, our coaches, our athletic staff, our student body and administration, we come to work everyday at BYU, to help increase the faith of each other by more fully placing Jesus Christ at the forefront of all our activity, whatever that may be.”
“One of my cherished memories at BYU, that I hope I can always hold onto, is how many times people would approach me on the street, in the store, at games and tell me how they were praying for me and for our players and coaches. I would always express my gratitude and let them know that I felt their prayers. I told them that every day, Cougar teams pray in gratitude for each other, for BYU, for our fans and for the opportunities that they’ve been blessed with.”
“We go hard. We make mistakes along the way. We error in our judgment in decisions. Our efforts sometimes fall short. However, we reach and sometimes, often, exceed our goals. We relish the challenges placed before us. We work to develop student athletes and a staff filled with character. We constantly strive to knit our hearts together as one.”
“To our most excellent coaches, staff and administration. I will applaud all of you individually in time. You know my love for you. At the top, a Board of Trustees that shepherds BYU and is led by a prophet of God. We are blessed to receive the very best counsel and guidance that a school could receive. I’m so grateful how each and every one of you have lifted me up in my time of need through 20 years. Plus, if I speak just one name, I’ll start balling. I’ve raised my family at BYU. They are true blue. I thank my dear wife, Lori. For 42 years, she’s been a sure and constant source of love and support. I thank my children and their spouses, Shannon and Robbie, Danny and Carli, Eric and Chrissy, Lauren and Zach. You give me incredible encouragement and way too much advice. Finally, to my grandchildren, Miles, Briggs and Lucy; Rocky, Leti and Dez; Remy and Sunny, Mickey and Ronnie, plus Kobe on the way. We have six more months to play in Papa’s Play Place, which is also known as the Indoor Practice Facility. Go Cougs!”
Q&A Responses
BYU President C. Shane Reese
On the search for a new director of athletics
“We’re definitely going to conduct a national search. We’re going to cast a broad net with the intent of getting the person who is passionate, who bleeds blue and is committed to the mission [of BYU]. Tom talked about this alignment piece. Understanding that we’re sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and our connection to our Board of Trustees. Having that alignment from top to bottom is an asset. I would call it our strategic advantage. 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 we had. It’s the magic of this athletic program. That alignment matters critically. That means we have to be rigorous in our approach to searching for a replacement.”
On replacing Tom Holmoe
“We talk about a replacement, but 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. Twenty years as an athletic director. I go around and look at Big 12 schools and that’s a rare individual. You then look at the path that we’ve trod to get where we are as an athletic department through [football] independence to entry into the Big 12, that’s a remarkable tribute to an incredible career.”
BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe
On deciding to retire
“I made the decision in July of this year. The last couple of year’s I have had to seriously contemplate, and my wife and I made the decision for a few years to go one more. Sometime this summer, I’m not sure about the exact date, I just had a really strong impression that it was time. I talked with some people through some long years where they would say ‘you’ll know when the time is right’, and it was in July of this year for me. I think my bosses wanted me to give them a little bit more time, like a year, and I just didn’t feel I could do that. I told my family and said ‘whether we go 0-12 or 12-0 in football, this is my last season. But we are not going to 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 other teams. About two weeks after the season, I went to President Reese President Vorkink and said this is the time. I said I would work through the end of this contract, which is August, and at that point and time I will be done.”
“I believe this is a really good time to make a smooth and effective and powerful transition. I sincerely believe the pieces are in place for us to continue to really thrive.”
On the search for a new director of athletics
“It was super encouraging for me, on the day that I came to President [Reese] and we talked this out. Right soon after I knew his feelings, I knew he had turned the page and he was ready to go. That made me feel so good that he can’t wallow in what was. We’re looking ahead right now. This is a really good time to make a transition. Transitions are part of sport. Change is part of sport. It’s often times very good. It can be tough but it’s good. I’ll report this to our coaches and all of our staff, President [Reese] is ready to go. We’re going to turn the page. The baton will be handed to a new athletic director. We’re going to hit the ground running. That’s what I wanted, that’s what President [Reese] wanted, and I think that’s what all of Cougar Nation wants.”
On the challenges facing his successor
“There are a lot of new things on the horizon. Revenue share, NIL, the transfer portal, the House settlement – those will be an ongoing challenge, has been, is and will be a challenge for a few years. I think that the work that we’ve done in the last two years is solid. I was with an Athletic Director friend of mine last night and one of the things we were talking about is ‘No one is really going to know how good we’re doing at this right now until a year, two or three from now when you can see how it paid off. There’s been people who thought they were doing it well, but it hasn’t turned out too well. I have a great team right now. I have, in the last year and maybe even two, subconsciously knowing that [his tenure] 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 in Brian Santiago and I’ve been given him a lot of strength. With NIL, House and these things, 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 changes will happen naturally and in a normal way. We got this.”
On his words of wisdom to his successor
“Staying aligned with the University and the Church and board of trustees has given me the stability to do what I do, and I can give that to my coaches, too.”
On getting BYU into the Big 12 before retiring
“My fifth or sixth year, I came home and just thought I could not do this job. I have been at BYU for 23 years, and I have been on one year contracts the whole time, never a multi-year contract. And I wanted it that way, I wanted to work for my food. If I did a great job in a given year, then my bosses would slide the contract across the table when it was contract time and I would sign the contract without looking at what the terms were. Just knowing I was going to have troubles and struggles was fine, so I just took them one at a time. There were other issues before the Big 12 and I didn’t know if I would make it to that. I had some definite goals I wanted to achieve before I was done and I will share one. One of my goals was for President Samuelsen to finish his tenure without having to fire me and find another AD. I think the fact that he had confidence in me and gave me that job, I just had to finish for him.
On navigating NIL as Athletic Director
“I think the answer is multi-faceted, but I look up at the coaches here in the stands and realize we did it together. There were difficult times, but together, the coaches and me and my administration, we just figured out a way to make it work.
On staying involved in BYU athletics
“I told President Reese right off the bat that I did sign up through another year, which is through August, but I said it’s probably better for everybody getting someone in here sooner rather than later. So, whatever the time is for the new AD to come in, I will hand over my keys and maybe sell nachos at the Smith Fieldhouse for the rest of my time.”