That time BYU AD Tom Holmoe ‘almost’ bought drinks for everyone at an airport bar

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe almost had some explaining to do when he turned in his travel expenses last month.

At his annual Education Week address on the state of BYU athletics Wednesday, Holmoe, 64, told an overflow audience in a Kimball Tower auditorium that he was in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport the afternoon of Aug. 8 when BYU alum Kenneth Rooks won a silver medal in the steeplechase at the Summer Olympics.

“The only place where there was a TV was in a bar,” Holmoe recounted, as a few audience members gasped, and others laughed loudly.

“So I was going crazy. And people around me asked, ‘Why are you so interested in that?’ I said, ‘That’s my guy. I am the athletic director at BYU. He ran for us.’ And they were like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’”

Considered a long shot in the event in Paris , Rooks ran the race of his life and finished second, after briefly having the lead.

“When he won (silver), I went crazy, bought everybody drinks,” Holmoe continued, as the laughter grew louder. Then he quickly added, “Noooo, not really.”

As he always does when he faces a room full of BYU boosters and supporters , Holmoe entertained, educated, enlightened and also encouraged audience members to continue to be lifters and admirers of the department and the 631 student-athletes he has overseen since 2005.

He used Rooks’ accomplishment as an example of what BYU athletes can do on a nationwide and worldwide stage to bring glory and acclaim to, and interest in, the school operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also acknowledged the Big 12 championship won last fall by the women’s cross-country team , the women’s soccer team’s appearance in the College Cup (NCAA semifinals) and the women’s volleyball team’s success.

He said BYU’s first season in the Big 12 was difficult as well, particularly for the school’s marquee sport — football.

“At this session last year, there was a little bit of uncertainty. We had uncharted waters that we were about to enter. … Now I could say the same thing, it continues,” Holmoe said. “We have learned a lot about ourselves, our coaches, and our players and administration, have learned how to maneuver through this. And we are ready to go.”

He noted that the women’s soccer team is off to a 1-0 start, a 1-0 win over Wisconsin, after losing its first two exhibition games (which don’t officially count on its season record), and hinted that the program’s No. 3 national ranking might be a bit high because it has only one returning starter.

Before anybody could ask him about the topic du jour this month — BYU’s starting quarterback for the opener on Aug. 31 against Southern Illinois — he said that he doesn’t know if it will be Jake Retzlaff or Gerry Bohanon.

“Don’t ask me who the starting quarterback is, that’s way over my pay grade,” he said. “It will be fun. … That is a decision that is super important for any team, but especially for BYU. Look at how many great quarterbacks have come through here. Four quarterbacks in the College Football Hall of Fame. That’s amazing.”

He said he “trusts” the coaches and knows that the “decision will be made at least before the game,” another quip that drew laughter.

Speaking of the first Big 12 season, Holmoe showed a graphic with the following phrase:

“Last season was all about making a good first impression. This season is about living up to that standard.”

As an example of a team that “leveled up to the competition” in the Big 12, Holmoe referred to the softball team — which used to dominate the West Coast Conference — having some tough times but missing out on the NCAA Tournament by one game. He mentioned softball’s upset of Oklahoma, which went on to win its third-straight national championship.

Another big laugh came when Holmoe showed a graphic with all 16 schools that now constitute the Big 12, including Utah, of course, and added: “These are our new friends in the neighborhood. Some of them you might not know what they are. Some of them you know exactly what they are.”

Holmoe said several times that the “world of college athletics is changing dramatically” and noted that he knows it is changing for fans because he sees their texts and emails, “about how it has affected you, and the price of your tickets, and the price of Cougar Tails.”

More highlights, poignant moments and humorous lines

• In the past, BYU has shared its athletic revenue with student-athletes “not in the form of cash payments,” but with amenities such as a better academics center, nutrition and nutritionists, “and so many other areas that we were feeling like were sharing (revenue) with them.” But he acknowledged that payments are coming in 2025 as part of the NCAA House settlement and the standardization across the college sports landscape.

“I think it will level off, to a degree,” he said of the ever-shifting NCAA landscape.

• As he has done in past years, Holmoe stressed that BYU is not like other schools, and is not trying to be like other schools, when it comes to athletics.

“We are not going to be Notre Dame. We are not going to be Texas Tech. We are not going to be the University of Utah, or Utah State,” he said. “We are BYU. We got to a position of strength by doing things the way we do them on this campus under the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And that is not going to change.”

• Holmoe said that the church and the BYU Board of Trustees aren’t making all the minute decisions, “but all the macro decisions that we are making, they are all (approved) by the Board of Trustees of the church, who run this school. They understand what we are doing, and we are in constant communication with them as we travel. That gives me great hope and great strength, and faith in what we are doing.”

• When Holmoe put a picture of new BYU basketball coach Kevin Young up on the big screen it was met with a huge round of applause.

Holmoe called the new coach “a strong disciple of Jesus Christ” and said Young brought in some players and assistant coaches who are not members of the church. “We have this incredible chemistry on this team right now with the players and the coaches. You are going to see some (big) things from them,” Holmoe said.

Later, after being asked about the hiring of Young, Holmoe cautioned that expectations are getting a bit out of hand.

“Here’s the thing: Every team in the Big 12 improved this year,” he said. “They paid a lot of money to get better. That’s just how it is.”

• Holmoe had no answers for some of the 13 questions he fielded, such as what his Halloween costume (an annual October treat) will be, or what sport he would like to coach at BYU besides football, if he could choose, or why they don’t put the student section at the Marriott Center (the ROC) behind both baskets, instead of just the West end.

Asked for his view of the transfer portal that has transformed college sports, he said he has mixed feelings about it, but overall likes it because it gives student-athletes a second chance if things don’t work out at their first school.

“One component of it is (athletes) are transferring for cash, (taking) the best deal,” he said. “I am not a big fan of that, but it is going on. It happens.”

• One attendee asked Holmoe why BYU doesn’t do more to honor former basketball star Jimmer Fredette, who got injured during the Olympics last month, as has been well-documented . Why no Jimmer Fredette Day, for example, the gentleman asked.

“He’s like one of my little brothers, so every day is Jimmer Fredette Day for me,” Holmoe said, later adding: “You’re not done hearing about Jimmer Fredette.”

• No Holmoe Education Week address is complete without a question about rising ticket prices, and Wednesday was no exception. Holmoe acknowledged that they have gone up with Big 12 admission, said it is because BYU “is progressing,” and admitted they probably aren’t going down unless the teams experience multiple losing seasons.

“Make no mistake about it,” he said. “We are looking for ways to increase our revenue. Everybody is.”