BYU AD Tom Holmoe Shares Initial Thoughts On Reported Big 12 TV Extension

PROVO, Utah – The reported Big 12 TV extension will be a windfall of money for BYU athletics.

An average of $31.5 million per year in TV revenue isn’t Big Ten or SEC money, but for BYU and members in the Big 12, it’s huge. The financials of the new extension begins in the 2025-26 academic year, the first full season when Texas and Oklahoma are gone and into the SEC.

BREAKING: Big news and big money for the @Big12Conference, per @SBJ. #Big12 @Mitch_Harperhttps://t.co/mMLmZKAdL3

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 30, 2022

Concerns of sustainability with Independence become a thing of the past as BYU moves into a Big 12 that appears to be a ground that’s stable. Something the Big 12 hasn’t been able to say for a long time.

BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe shared some of his initial thoughts on the reported extension during an interview on BYUtv’s “BYU Sports Nation.”

It should be noted he conducted the interview while dressed in his Yoda Halloween costume. If it wasn’t surreal enough that BYU is heading into a league that will make more TV money than the likes of Clemson and Miami, seeing Holmoe speak while dressed as the ultimate Jedi is even more unreal.

Tom Holmoe on the Big 12 Media Rights extension

Holmoe was asked if the numbers tossed around in the Big 12 media rights exceeded his expectations.

“Well, I think when you looked at what happened with the Big 12 last year, when they lost a couple of longtime standing members in Oklahoma and Texas, the country –sports enthusiasts everywhere– thought it was the beginning of the end,” Holmoe said to BYUtv. “So I think when Bob Bowlsby went out and got the four of us (BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston), that was a big move. People weren’t quite sure what that meant.”

Holmoe continued, “And then when Brett Yormark came in and went to work right away immediately to try to put together and make everybody see that this is going to be something different. We’ll see what different means, but obviously, broadcast partners have thought this ‘different’ is going to be something special. We’re all grateful for that.”

Countdown to July 1, 2023

BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston will officially join the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023. All four universities have athletic departments that are currently outside the autonomous structure of the NCAA. Aside from football, BYU’s Olympic Sports compete in the West Coast Conference. Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston are all in the American Athletic Conference.

It has been a dream for BYU since it founded its athletic department to be among the top conferences in college athletics.

“I think what [the reported media rights extension] does is it gives us opportunities. And that’s what we’ve always been waiting for is opportunities for our student-athletes to play against the very best week in and week out,” Holmoe said to BYUtv. “We’ve tried to play great competition, and we feel we have. Our assistant coaches and our head coaches have tried to put together great nonconference schedules. The WCC has been very good at the top of all the sports. And here we are now, looking and getting experience of what it’s going to be to play tough, tough teams week in and week out.”

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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