BYU’s Tom Holmoe Receives Athletic Director Of The Year Award

PROVO, Utah – BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe received prestigious recognition in the athletic director ranks.

Holmoe was one of four individuals named NACDA Athletic Director of the Year from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The ADOY Award highlights athletics directors’ efforts for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses, and their surrounding communities.

#BYU Athletic Director @TomHolmoe has been named NACDA Athletic Director of the Year.#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/e8Jq0XAa1R

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 10, 2021

Along with Tom Holmoe, Coastal Carolina’s Matt Hogue, West Virginia’s Shane Lyons, and Oregon’s Rob Mullens were the other three ADOY recipients.

Tom Holmoe pieced together a memorable football season amidst a pandemic

Every athletic department navigated challenges amidst a global pandemic. At BYU, the challenges were even greater than most being an Independent football program.

Through relationships he’s formed over his 16 years as BYU’s athletic director, Holmoe was able to piece together a 12-game regular-season schedule for the Independent Cougars. An impressive feat when you consider two programs at the FBS Independent level didn’t play at all last fall.

ATHLETICS DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR 🏆

Congrats @TomHolmoe!! pic.twitter.com/1Lr5xJXWug

— BYU Cougars (@BYUCougars) March 10, 2021

BYU football ended up posting an 11-1 record and finished No. 11 in the final AP Poll. Their highest final ranking since 1996.

But it wasn’t just the football field where Holmoe has found success amidst the pandemic. Holmoe championed an increase in mental health services for BYU student-athletes and empowered them to lend their voices to social issues.

“If this were a career award, Tom would be among the most deserving,” said BYU President Kevin J. Worthen. “For the past 15 years, Tom has been a remarkably effective leader of a program that, without exception, finished in the top 50 in the Director’s Cup, often in the top 35, and usually the top non-Power-5 program. He has also been extremely effective as a role model and mentor for the student­ athletes at BYU. He always knows exactly how many student-athletes are enrolled each semester, and often is on a first-name basis with each of them. Tom’s lifetime contributions are almost without parallel. But this is an annual award, given for performance over the past year. And, in that regard, Tom is, in my opinion, not just among the most deserving, but the most deserving.”

Holmoe has been in the athletic director role at BYU since March 1, 2005. BYU became an FBS Independent in 2011.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m., KSL Newsradio). Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper and the KSL Sports app.