PK: Tom Holmoe Leaves Firm Foundation At BYU Athletics
Feb 11, 2025, 7:38 PM | Updated: Feb 12, 2025, 12:11 pm
With the heavy lifting over for BYU – at least for now, anyway – Tom Holmoe can leave knowing his strong leadership has given the athletic department a solid foundation going forward.
Holmoe announced on Tuesday his retirement effective at the end of the semester in April. After serving on an interim basis following Val Hale’s dismissal, Holmoe officially became the athletic director in March 2005.
Thank You, Tom.
After 20 years of service as BYU’s director of athletics, Tom Holmoe has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2024-25 athletic season.
Tom lifted BYU to unprecedented heights during his tenure, leaving an undeniable legacy that will last forever. pic.twitter.com/65Okewta7K
— BYU Cougars (@BYUCougars) February 11, 2025
Tom Holmoe Finds His Way Back To Provo
The department experienced significant change during his 20-year reign, highlighted by joining the Big 12 two years ago. The move breathed life into the football program, which had been without a conference affiliation since leaving the Mountain West after the 2009-10 academic year.
The former BYU defensive back started his tenure in administration after playing on three Super Bowl-winning teams with the San Francisco 49ers. He later became the head coach at Cal after serving as an assistant coach with the 49ers and in college at Cal and Stanford.
After getting fired at Cal in 2001, he joined BYU’s athletic department the same year. His promotion came during a time of embarrassing turmoil in the football program that included three consecutive losing seasons and multiple troubling off-field incidents with several players.
Holmoe Making The Right Moves Early On
Desperately needing a disciplined approach to the team, Holmoe advocated hiring then-defensive coordinator Bronco Mendenhall to replace Gary Crowton as the head coach. The university had intended to hire another assistant coach, going so far as planning to play taped endorsements from former players during the news conference, before flipping to Mendenhall.
The decision was bold on several levels, notably that Mendenhall had no head coaching experience and was not a “BYU guy.” He never played for the Cougars and had no ties to the program until Crowton hired him away from New Mexico two years earlier.
With a no-nonsense approach, Mendenhall got the Cougars to achieve bowl eligibility in his first season and became a Mountain West powerhouse the following four years. He left to become Virginia’s head coach in 2016, replaced by current coach Kalani Sitake.
Holmoe Leads BYU From The Mountain West, Through Independence, Then To The Big 12
The program had become relatively stale during the later years as an independent. With Utah enjoying the distinct advantage with its Pac-12 membership, BYU was forced to play second fiddle behind its rival.
Angling for several years to join the Big 12, BYU finally got the lifeline in 2021. Needing one season to adjust, the Cougars went 11-2 this year and have a two-game winning streak against the Utes.
Holmoe also has made successful hires in the men’s basketball program, starting with Dave Rose in 2005. Rose won four Mountain West regular-season championships, guiding the team to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1981.
Forced to join the West Coast Conference, as did most BYU sports when football became an independent, the program plateaued in recent seasons. After Rose retired in 2019, Holmoe hired Mark Pope and then plucked Kevin Young from the ranks of the NBA last April.
Navigating Covid And NIL
Along the way, Holmoe successfully navigated the levels of bureaucracy to help the department stay with the times. BYU has made significant financial investments in coaching salaries and competes well in the NIL area.
Another highlight came during the 2020 football season, which was played during the Covid-impacted year. While several conferences erroneously chose to play only a handful of games, Holmoe created an 11-game regular-season schedule on the fly. The Cougars went 11-1, winning the Boca Raton Bowl.
Holmoe’s One Blemish
The one blotch on Holmoe’s record involves the current state of women’s basketball. The administration forced out Jeff Judkins, couching it as the long-time coach’s decision to retire, but so far the move has not produced the desired results.
Amber Whiting, who had been a high school coach in Idaho, has yet to have a winning record at BYU. The Cougars were 6-12 in their first Big 12 season and will be 3-10 after Tuesday night’s loss to TCU.
