Tom Holmoe Promises BYU Fans Updates On Upcoming Season Soon
Aug 6, 2020, 3:26 PM
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe meets with reporters for his semiannual media Q&A roundtable in Provo on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. Nate Edwards, BYU photo
PROVO, Utah – BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe has been a busy man the past few weeks. Life as an athletic director of an Independent football program forces him to focus on BYU schedules every day in life that doesn’t involve a pandemic. But now it’s the only focus as Holmoe and his athletic department work in light-speed to put together games on short notice.
BYU announced its 2020 season-opener against Navy set for Labor Day night in front of a nationally-televised audience on ESPN. Two programs from the Mountain West Conference have also expressed their commitment towards playing BYU as well this fall amid COVID-19.
— Tom Holmoe (@TomHolmoe) August 6, 2020
With the wave of news streaming in on Thursday, Holmoe issued a statement to Cougar Club members, season ticket holders, and fans on social media with promises that more games and clarity are coming soon.
Tom Holmoe statement to BYU fans regarding the football schedule
“We appreciate BYU Cougar Club donors, season ticket holders, partners, and fans who have been incredibly patient and supportive during these unprecedented times. We realize you may have questions and are eager to hear about our plans for the upcoming football season.
“An updated schedule is being finalized, along with many other details associated with LaVell Edwards Stadium access, ticketing, health and safety protocols, and operations. Our athletic staff has been working closely with university leaders, government officials and medical experts to prepare for a variety of potential scenarios for the 2020 football season.
“We expect to have finalized plans completed soon and will communicate those details with Cougar Nation as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we remain excited as we prepare for another season of BYU football. Go Cougs!”
Last month, Holmoe didn’t rule out any possibilities in regard to the 2020 football schedule during an interview on BYUtv. Keeping all options on the table. The season opener against Navy was something that Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo said he heard about yesterday. Things are moving fast as teams try to pick up games and Holmoe is working his phone to get BYU games.
Games are still out there to be had for Holmoe and BYU.
The Big 12 Conference didn’t add BYU as a partner for a season, but they left the door open for each Big 12 squad to play a non-conference game.
The ACC announced its 11-game schedule for 2020 and a few of the programs including the mighty Clemson Tigers have no non-conference game scheduled yet for September 19th. The same goes for Mack Brown’s North Carolina Tar Heels who are at trendy preseason Top 25 pick.
Group of 5 conferences are finalizing their plans regarding schedules this fall and BYU has received assurances from two MWC teams that they will be playing BYU as scheduled in Utah State and San Diego State.
More moves are sure to come into place in short order with kickoff quickly approaching.
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 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
