BYU AD Tom Holmoe to receive top honor from National Football Foundation

PROVO — The National Football Foundation will deliver a top honor to BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe at the organization's annual awards dinner this winter in Las Vegas.

The organization announced Holmoe as the recipient of the John L. Toner Award, which recognizes athletic directors who have demonstrated superior administrative qualities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics and particularly college football Wednesday.

Holmoe will be among the honorees at the NFF's 65th annual awards dinner Dec. 5 at the ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Holmoe has been the athletic director at BYU since March 1, 2005, making him the third longest-serving athletic director in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Overseeing an athletic department of 21 sports, more than 600 athletes and 220 staff members, Holmoe's department has captured 128 conference regular-season and tournament championships and more than 300 All-America honors in his time as athletic director.

In 19 years under Holmoe's tenure, the Cougars have had an average ranking of 36th nationally in the annual Learfield Directors' Cup standings that ranks athletic programs across the nation, including the No. 1 spot in fall sports in the fall of 2022 for the first time ever.

The national athletic director of the year in 2021 also made a number of key hires in his tenure, including Bronco Mendenhall and Kalani Sitake over football; Dave Rose and Mark Pope over men's basketball; Amber Whiting over women's basketball; Shawn Olmstead and Heather Olmstead over men's volleyball and women's volleyball, respectively, and several others.

He also guided the Cougars through a transition from the Mountain West Conference to football independence (and the West Coast Conference in most other sports), and most recently the Big 12 in all sports but nationally-rated men's volleyball.

"I'm humbled and honored to be recognized for what I've given to the sport of football when I feel so blessed for what football has given me," Holmoe said in a statement. "For the last 53 years I have always been part of a football team whether as a player, coach or AD. Leading up to each and every game my heart still beats faster in anticipation of the game.

"I'm grateful to all my coaches and teammates who taught me the game of football from Pop Warner and high school to college and the NFL, and I thank the NFF for promoting the greatest sport on earth."

The native of La Crescenta, California, came to BYU to play football in 1978 before earning first-team All-WAC honors at safety as a senior in 1982. He was drafted in the fourth round by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1983 NFL draft, and played seven years in the league that included Super Bowl championship seasons in 1984, 1988 and 1989.

While at BYU, Holmoe also joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, married his wife Lori, and the couple raised most of their four children (and 10 grandchildren) in the Provo area, with Holmoe earning a master's degree in athletic administration from the university in 1995.

"For nearly 20 years, Tom Holmoe has led BYU athletics with a singular passion for helping student-athletes pursue their dreams in one of the top educational environments in the country," NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell said in a statement. "As a former cornerback at BYU and then a head coach at Cal, he knows firsthand the keys to success at the college level, and his thoughtful and methodical approach has allowed him to become one of the most influential athletics administrators in the country. We are thrilled to honor him as the 2023 Toner Award recipient."

Here's a look at the previous recipients of the John L. Toner Award presented by the NFF:

• 2023 – Tom Holmoe (BYU)
• 2022 – Mitch Barnhart (Oregon State, Kentucky)
• 2020 – Jack Swarbrick (Notre Dame)
• 2019 – Deborah Yow (Saint Louis, Maryland, NC State)
• 2018 – Thomas Beckett (Yale)
• 2018 – Bob Scalise (Harvard)
• 2017 – Dan Guerrero (Cal State Dominguez Hills, California-Irvine, UCLA)
• 2016 – Chet Gladchuk (Tulane, Boston College, Houston, Navy)
• 2015 – Mark Hollis (Michigan State)
• 2014 – Kevin White (Loras [IA], Maine, Tulane, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Duke)
• 2013 – Joe Castiglione (Missouri, Oklahoma)
• 2012 – Mal Moore (Alabama)
• 2010 – Robert E. Mulcahy III (Rutgers)
• 2009 – Jim Weaver (UNLV, Western Michigan, Virginia Tech)
• 2008 – Gene Smith (Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Arizona State, Ohio State)
• 2007 – Jeremy Foley (Florida)
• 2006 – DeLoss Dodds (Kansas State, Texas)
• 2005 – Jack Lengyel (Fresno State, Missouri, Navy)
• 2004 – Vince Dooley (Georgia)
• 2003 – John Clune (Air Force)
• 2003 – Andy Geiger (Brown, Penn, Stanford, Maryland, Ohio State)
• 2002 – Bill Byrne (Oregon, Nebraska, Texas A&M)
• 2001 – Milo R. "Mike" Lude (Kent State, Washington, Auburn)
• 2000 – Frank Broyles (Arkansas)
• 1999 – Jake Crouthamel (Syracuse)
• 1999 – David M. Nelson (Delaware)
• 1998 – Doug Dickey (Tennessee)
• 1997 – John L. Toner (Connecticut)

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