Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
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The following is a report filed by KSL Newsradio's Andrew Adams, who attended this afternoon's media Q and A session with BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe.
Click on the links in the "Cougar Cuts" box to the right to hear the audio files from the interview session.
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Meeting the Press
Tom Holmoe admits he avoided the topics of conference realignment and the future of the rivalry with Utah in recent weeks, but it was a different story Friday as Holmoe answered dozens of questions on the issues in an hour-and-a-half session with radio and print media.
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Changing Landscape
Holmoe said the college football landscape is "not in concrete," that there will probably be more significant changes nationally over the next two years, and there were ongoing discussions about membership.
"If A, B, or C happened, we would have our reaction prepared," Holmoe said.
The Cougars' AD also said both BYU and Utah were trying to maintain the rivalry, but significant logistical problems remain.
"We're going to fight to try to see what we can do, but there's no answer to that today," Holmoe said.
Primary concern is the 2011 season, when BYU and Utah would be looking for a home game.
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Conference Realignment
Holmoe said the chatter may calm down for a while, but he believes more realignment talk may surface as early as the end of the 2010 college football season.
"I look at the things that happened this year as kind of an initial move," Holmoe said. "There's a good likelihood in my opinion - one person - that nationally things will not be settled for, at least, the next couple years."
Holmoe said while expansion and realignment has been at the forefront for the past six months, BYU "has been working on this for three years." He says the challenge has been that BYU is in the middle of realignment, without necessarily being on the inside.
"There are ongoing conversations about membership," Holmoe said.
Holmoe declined to talk about BYU's strategies, though he said there is no interest from other conferences right now in realigning to include the Cougars. He said if the move had been to "super conferences" this year, BYU "would have been fine."
Holmoe said he has avoided talking to the media because anything he could report to this point was not first-hand knowledge.
"Our stance changed every day," Holmoe said. "Maybe not changed every day, but we were bobbing and weaving based on the information we received."
Meanwhile, Holmoe said the school continues to position itself for whatever happens.
"If A, B or C happened, we would have our reaction prepared," Holmoe said.
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The Rivalry
Holmoe said it's sad that the rivalry will change.
"We're fighting to try to keep it, make it work, but it's hard," Holmoe said. "The logistics have all of a sudden changed dramatically, so we're going to fight to see what we can do, but there's no answer to that today."
Problems in football could surface as early as 2011, Utah's first year in the Pac-10. Both BYU and Utah may be looking for non-conference home games. Holmoe scoffed at one media member's question of whether BYU would agree to a "2-for-1."
"You want a rivalry, make room for the rivalry," Holmoe said. "[Utah athletic director Chris Hill] and I have had discussions that are focusing on making it happen - not focusing on making it go away - so I'm optimistic … that we'll try something - not just in football, but in all sports - to try to keep the rivalry alive."
When asked if BYU would consider an early season game with Utah - perhaps even on Labor Day - Holmoe said, "Possibly." He said he believes Utah has mutual interest in maintaining the rivalry.
"There is great camaraderie between participants in the rivalry," Holmoe said, but added that BYU would ultimately do what is best for its own interests.
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Exposure
Holmoe said there are "options" for BYU to be attractive and visible.
He talked about BYU's new state-of-the-art broadcasting building.
"Folks, there's nothing better than that west of the Mississippi in broadcasting," Holmoe said. "That's ours. The things we can do with that - the opportunities and possibilities - nobody in the country has that ability."
Holmoe suggested it wouldn't be best used by broadcasting replays of old BYU games, and said most all BYU athletic facilities are hard-wired to the center.
"BYU men's and women's soccer, volleyball or baseball - we broadcast those games in English, Portuguese and Spanish," Holmoe said. "Why do we do that? Because they're going to South America, Central America and Portugal. BYU Television International. Our games are going out. Name another school in the country that does that. None. So, if we can do that, what can we do with our football team and our basketball team?"
When asked if that leads BYU to the idea of athletic independence, Holmoe said it leads BYU to the discussion of what it can do, in any realm, to help build the mission of the school. Holmoe said it is something the school has been looking at for years.
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Quick Hitters
Holmoe:
-said the Pac-10 was "never an option" for BYU. When asked if the school even received a ‘courtesy call,' he said, "No, not a courtesy call." When asked what Utah had that BYU didn't, Holmoe said, "You'd have to ask the Pac-10."
-acknowledged BYU "wasn't Notre Dame" when it comes to expansion.
-was asked whether Utah's move to the Pac-10 would impact BYU's ability to schedule Utah State in football. Holmoe said "we'll see," but he also said the move does not affect BYU's desire to play Utah State.
-said, "in a BCS bowl game," when asked where he'd like to see BYU in 3 to 5 years.
-acknowledged it was possible the Mountain West Conference could get an automatic bid to the BCS in two years, even if it fell short in the third qualifying category. At that point, it would be up to a vote. Holmoe didn't know which way that vote would go, but recognized the political pressure facing the BCS.
-was asked about scheduling future non-conference games, but he offered no details.
-said he supported the addition of Boise State to the MWC, and the conference had been talking about the Broncos for 5 years.
-was asked about expanding Lavell Edwards Stadium. He said it would take 10 straight years of sell-outs and a long waiting list.
-was asked why Sunday play matters in other conferences for Olympic sports, since they are not revenue generating and often are not televised. He said he believed it boiled down to tradition and he has heard from other schools they do not like playing on Sunday.
-said BYU is watching the stability of the Big 12 (-2). He dismissed the idea that if the new TV contract comes in significantly less than projected - which he believes it could for the Big 12 and Pac-10 - that it would throw a wrench in the 10 remaining schools' commitment to stay together.
-said he believes many in the Big 12 do not want a football championship game because of what happened in the 2007 college football season, where Missouri beat Kansas to advance to the conference championship game, but Kansas received the BCS bowl bid because Missouri lost the championship game.
-was asked about Jim McMahon finally returning to BYU for a fundraiser before the football season opener this fall. Holmoe said it will be "fantastic to have him come back."
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