PROVO — Tom Holmoe took on a daunting challenge when he was hired as BYU's 12th athletic director on March 1, 2005.

The football team had just completed their third consecutive losing season for the first time in 40 years. The program was also rocked by the indictment of four players on rape charges along with a number of other players who left the program due to honor code violations.

The basketball program had just completed a 9-21 season and was in search of a new coach as well.

Holmoe made two crucial decisions early in his tenure that quickly solved the problems and led to success both programs had never experienced before.

It didn't take long for Bronco Mendenhall to change the culture and clean up the football program. He has led the Cougars to 10 or more wins in five of his eight seasons, eight consecutive bowl appearances and a four-game bowl win streak, which is the longest in BYU history.

Dave Rose has become the second winningest basketball coach in school history. He has led the Cougars back to national prominence, reaching the NCAA Tournament five times — the Sweet 16 for the first time in 30 years.

Holmoe tackled another challenge that began in the summer of 2010.

Conference realignment rocked the college sports landscape and forced BYU to leave the Mountain West Conference and blaze a different path. Many were skeptical, but Holmoe has led BYU football in a successful transition to independence, and other sports have found success in the West Coast Conference. BYU has more television exposure than ever and after two years, the football team has a schedule that many thought wasn't possible.

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Holmoe: Mendenhall contract talks 'ongoing;' would like to settle extension 'as soon as we can'

With his football coach's three-year contract set to expire in December, BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe on Wednesday said Bronco Mendenhall is still without a contract offer on the table, but that negotiations continue, with the hope that a deal can be done before the start of the 2013 season.

"I think we've just followed the plan," Holmoe said. "We knew what we wanted and we went for it."

They really went for it when it comes to the 2013 football schedule. It certainly gives fans a reason for excitement, but the program has never faced a challenge like this.

Road trips to Virginia, Utah State, Wisconsin and Notre Dame, along with home battles with Texas, Utah, Boise State and Georgia Tech highlight the most daunting schedule in program history.

"You could (win ten games) with a mediocre schedule, and as an independent, it doesn't mean much," Holmoe said. "I haven't tried to put together mediocre schedules. So in the future, if there's a bad schedule, then it's on me."

The football program returns Kyle Van Noy and Cody Hoffman, which is a tremendous boost to their chances of success. But Taysom Hill is coming off a serious knee injury and the offense must adjust to Robert Anae and a new offensive coaching staff. Expectations should be tempered, but that is never the case at BYU.

"If we win 10 games this year, that's a really, really good season. If we win nine games, it's a good season. If we win eight games, it's a good season. If we win seven games," he says. "We're taking 'em on."

Holmoe understands the new college football playoff format. BYU must play schedules like this and win if they ever have any chance to reach their ultimate goal.

"You can't have a great season if you don't have a good schedule," he said.

BYU will face that schedule with a coach who has an uncertain future. Bronco Mendenhall enters the 2013 season in the final year of his contract. It's rare for a coach with the kind of success Mendenhall has had at BYU to be in this type of contract situation.

The ups and downs of the past three seasons, and past comments about his future, has led to speculation about Mendenhall's future as BYU's head coach. Holmoe seemed confident Wednesday when addressing the topic during an annual meeting with the local media that a deal will get done. He shared that conversations and communications are ongoing about an extension, even though no offer is on the table.

He also believes Mendenhall wants to coach long term at BYU.

"I think that Bronco has expressed that publicly in the last little while," Holmoe said. "His desire with the changes in the coaches, the changes that he's made with the team, some of the things he looks to in the future, make it appear that he has plans set for the distance."

There is no timetable for the contract to get done, but Holmoe indicated that he wants to see Bronco coach the Cougars beyond next season.

"I think he's done a great job at BYU," he said. "There's always going to be ups and downs in a program, but he's done a really good job for us and we're working on a contract to extend."

Mendenhall's contract is just the latest challenge for Holmoe, who knows that many more challenges await in the wild and unstable world of college athletics.

"I'm going to tell you things will change in the next month or two," he says. "Things will change that will, not rock the world, but that will change our ideas about how we plan for the future. You can't really have a five year plan as a college athletic director. You can have one but it better be flexible because things are going to change."

In the ever-changing world that is college athletics, BYU is fortunate to have someone like Tom Holmoe leading the way no matter what the future may bring.

He has proven that he's up to the challenge.

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