Tom Holmoe announced his retirement as BYU’s athletic director on Feb. 11.
In a Church News interview a short time later, Holmoe reflected on his pivotal decision to play football at BYU.
“Coming to BYU was something that I determined that I wanted to do, and I think that that was the most important decision I made in my life,” he said in the Church News video “Coming to BYU.”
Nobody in his circle of family or friends in Southern California wanted Holmoe to choose BYU in 1978. He was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, yet he liked the brand of football and academics. Most of all, he appreciated the lack of distractions.
“I was a young man that could be easily distracted,” he said with a smile.
Influenced by good friends who were Latter-day Saints, Holmoe decided to play for BYU.
“I think the important part is how I got here. Once I got here, that’s a totally whole new story,” he said. “I’ll just sum it up by saying that you have the Spirit. It’s there. I cannot feel that Spirit as much in the campuses that I’ve coached at in other schools or that I’ve visited many times. When you are at BYU, a lot of miracles can happen if you let it.”
