BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe sees the game from every angle.

He's been a college athlete, an NFL defensive back and a coach for BYU, Stanford, Berkeley and the San Francisco 49ers. Coinciding with Holmoe's five years at BYU were five straight titles. During his seven-year NFL career with the 49ers, Holmoe enjoyed three Super Bowl victories in 1984, 1988 and 1989.

"As an athlete I loved working on a team and now as athletic director I get to work with not just a team but 630 student athletes," Holmoe said.

A native of La Crescenta, Calif., Holmoe first came to BYU as a student on a football scholarship. He was named athletic director in 2005, replacing Val Hale and Elaine Michaelis.

As athletic director, Holmoe is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the athletic department including paperwork, scheduling games, working with media and his favorite activity: working with individual students.

Emily Deans, former marketing director for the athletic department, said Holmoe's responsibilities are broad. "The athletic director is the big cheese," Deans said. "He sets the vision for the athletic department and then works to communicate that vision to his staff and coaches so it can be executed." However, even though Holmoe's responsibilities are diverse, Deans said she knew Holmoe to be just as interested in details as specific as the type of paper for the game programs.

"When I was traveling with the gymnastics squad, he wanted constant updates," Deans said. "I would send him texts throughout the meet: who scored well on the bars, who fell off the beam, whose routine was flawless, how many fans were there,etc. No matter how late at night, or what the time difference was, Tom wanted to know it all and that is true of all 21 BYU teams and every single competition.

One of the first critical decisions on the job was hiring a new head football coach.

"Tom put his reputation on the line hiring me," said head football coach Bronco Mendenhall. "He is cerebral and sees the big picture. Rather than being blown by the wind of public opinion he makes his own decisions."

Holmoe sees the bigger picture, specifically when it came to this year's football theme: "Quest for Perfection." At this year's BYU vs. Utah game, many Ute fans poked fun at the slogan, wearing shirts saying, "The Quest has moved North."

Holmoe said the slogan was misinterpreted. "It wasn't supposed to mean we are going to be undefeated; it coincides with the church's idea of the quest for perfection," he said. Holmoe added that in a spiritual sense, perfection doesn't mean failure never happens, but it's part of the process in achieving one's personal best.

Janie Penfield, associate athletic director, said Holmoe uses the words of Joseph Smith to guide his management style. "He believes in the idea of teaching people proper principles and allowing them to govern themselves," said Penfield. "It's extremely powerful."

The most difficult part of the job for Holmoe is pre-season football scheduling. He compares the process to dating. "People think I can just pick up the phone and say, 'Hey come over and play,' but it's a lot more complicated than that," he said. He negotiates and cultivates relationships with teams for months, sometimes having to work on single games as much as a year in advance.

Dave Rose, men's basketball head coach, said Holmoe directs BYU athletics with a coaching mentality. "Tom is extremely honest and clear in his expectations," said Rose. "I think he tries to be the athletic director that he would have wanted to work with as a player or coach."

Despite the positive opinion his employees have of him, Holmoe still receives criticism on a daily basis through e-mails and phone calls from fans. "I call it feedback," he said. "Even in Little League you deal with that. . . It's just part of what I do. If someone has the passion to write an e-mail or call me I respect that and try to listen."

He cites working with students as the best part of his job: Even after working with NFL superstars, Holmoe maintains there is nothing like the spirit and camaraderie of university sports.



Copyright Brigham Young University 2 Dec 2008