Holmoe speaketh!

[CougarClaw]

http://sltrib.com/sltrib/blogs/byusport ... e.html.csp

a must-read IMHO

Doesn't announce anything earthshattering but there are some real gems in here.

[CougarClaw]

Couple of my favorite tidbits:

about Utah:

"we had a great rivalry," he said, adding, "That's sad that it will change." even though both sides will look to continue to play each other. emphasis added

about Pac-10

Asked point blank if the Pac-10 conference ever approached BYU about adding the school, Holmoe said, "no."

about going independent

Asked if BYU has explored the possibility of going independent with no conference affiliation, Holmoe said the school has "looked at all its options, and will continue to do so." He stressed that athletic directors don't make decisions of that magnitude; rather, those are made by school presidents and boards of directors.

most interesting point of this to me was when asked about Pac-10; he said "No" definitively; when asked about going independent not the same answer -- he DIDN'T say No.

Count me in the column that thinks Going I. would be a disaster but I can only hope that this answer is more of a negotiating point/negotiating alternative rather than a realistic option.

[YBrit]

I'd like to hear him talk without PR. It would be narrowed to this:

BYU was never contacted, we'll play utah on equal terms, we're not ever going undefeated but could still get in a BcS. Our stadium is adequate (meaning can't get board permission), and I didn't bother to recommend to the dean to let Unga back in, apparently he hates football athletes.





Actually I'm glad he came out with anything at all.

[YBrit]

I'd like to hear him talk without PR. It would be narrowed to this:

BYU was never contacted, we'll play utah on equal terms, we're not ever going undefeated but could still get in a BcS. Our stadium is adequate (meaning can't get board permission), and I didn't bother to recommend to the dean to let Unga back in, apparently he hates football athletes.





Actually I'm glad he came out with anything at all. He didn't really need to, I'd prefer he announce something with substance like: BYU will wear royal blue jersey's at all times, the wallpapers are up, or we're paying more money to football/basketball coaches and dropping ALL female sports (I know it's not happening, just a wish)

[Mars]

Here are the bits that stood out to me:

" As far as continuing its rivalry with Utah, Holmoe said BYU wants to continue to play the Utes in all sports if that is at all possible... Asked specifically if BYU will agree to a two-for-one football arrangement with Utah -- two games in SLC for every one game in Provo -- if that is what it takes to keep the series going, Holmoe said, "I don't think we would do that." He said he and Hill "have had conversations about making [football games in the future] happen, not [about] not making it happen." "

"Asked if BYU has explored the possibility of going independent with no conference affiliation, Holmoe said the school has "looked at all its options, and will continue to do so." He stressed that athletic directors don't make decisions of that magnitude; rather, those are made by school presidents and boards of directors."

"Holmoe said he was on board completely with the MWC adding Boise State (last month) and talked extensively about the greatness of Boise State's football program. "I have always liked their football team," he said. He noted that the MWC has been talking about it for five years, and that he was happy to finally see them extend the invitation to the Broncos."

"Holmoe said he doesn't see the need to expand 64,000-plus seat LaVell Edwards Stadium in the near future, and that it would take 10 more years of sellouts for such an upgrade to be considered. "It's a good capacity right now," he said."

[Mars]

" Meanwhile, Holmoe is optimistic that the MWC, which will add Boise State in 2011, has a great shot at receiving an automatic BCS bid in two years. "If we continue to play at the level we have in our conference, we're going to be automatic qualifiers," Holmoe said. "That would be a huge thing. That would (alleviate) a lot of people's concerns if we were an automatic qualifier." "

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7000 ... cid=rss-28

" There's been speculation that BYU, which is frustrated by the lack of exposure provided by the Mountain West Conference and the Mtn. television network, could leave the MWC and be on its own with the help of its own TV network.

"Independence is an option. We will look at everything," Holmoe said. "There are pros and cons to the Pac-10, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Mountain West Conference, independence. What you have to do is weigh those and measure them against what — what's right for BYU. And what's right for BYU in 2010, but what's right for BYU into the future. That is quite a bit more complex than most people understand."

Given that, Holmoe pointed out that the school has options. BYU owns its own television network, BYUTV, which reaches a potential audience of 150 million around the world. The school boasts a new state-of-the-art broadcasting facility. "There's nothing better than that West of the Mississippi," Holmoe said of the facility. "The thing we can do with that, nobody in the country has that ability... So are we just going to watch replays of the Holiday Bowl from 1980 on BYUTV? No. We want as much as we can possibly get done to benefit the mission of our school. A lot of times, the mission of our school can be aided by athletics." "

[Mars]

" "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. "

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=498&sid=11601170

[snoscythe]

I've always known that the Independent option didn't make sense for BYU from a purely fiscal standpoint. It still doesn't. They stand to make gobs more money even in the MWC with the MTN contract than what they can gen-up from their own network (especially given the fact that BYU-TV is nonprofit and would probably lose more than 70% of its distribution if it were to shed NP status).

What I have never thought of until reading notes from Holmoe's presser is the fact that BYU might have reasons other than the all-mighty $ to go indie. I don't think they'd do it if they were going to lose money, but if they could break even and still push the BYU-product/message to a wider audience, it sounds like they just might do it. It certainly makes other penny-pinching moves around the Athletic Department make more sense (e.g. having a fundraiser to fund scholarships that only run about $20K per year, tops).

They might be crazy (inspired?) enough to say "da[ng] capitalist economics" and pull the trigger.