Holmoe speaks: lots of topics inside

[Fido]

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PROVO — BYU is disciplining those involved in the fight that occurred after the Miami Beach Bowl in December, but the school is handling the matter internally and won’t discuss it publicly or announce suspensions, athletic director Tom Holmoe said Tuesday afternoon.

"There is a lot going on behind the scenes,” Holmoe said during a question-and-answer session with reporters, “and we'd like to keep it that way."

In the aftermath of the Cougars’ 55-48 overtime loss to Memphis in the Miami Beach Bowl, players from both sides were involved in a brawl on the field.

Last month, Memphis announced it will punish 12 players for their role in the brawl.

Holmoe said he won’t comment on any disciplinary measures taken by the school, adding that some discipline has already taken place.

Holmoe also wouldn’t comment on the status of running back Charles West, who BYU signed in February. He said the school is waiting for the legal process to play out. He added that the school wasn’t aware of West’s legal problems until after Signing Day.

West, a speedster from Coppell High in Dallas, was accused of assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and possession of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor, stemming from an incident that occurred in late January.

Holmoe addressed a variety of other issues, including:

• The status of the BYU-Utah football series, which is in the middle of a two-year hiatus, and set to resume in 2016 through 2018.

“I just want to make sure that we have the series,” Holmoe said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to work it out. It’s our intention to play ever year.”

Holmoe added that talks are ongoing for games in 2019 and 2020.

• The status as an independent football program. Holmoe said while the school has looked and examined many possibilities and options regarding joining a Power 5 conference, BYU is still firmly entrenched as an independent.

"We’re an independent team playing an independent schedule,” Holmoe said. “That’s what we’ve got and that’s who we are."

Meanwhile, Holmoe added that he foresees another shift in conference alignment coming, and "it’s our intention that we would be playing in what they call a 'Power 5' conference sometime in the near future."

Holmoe acknowledged the concerns in regard to the fiscal disparity compared to P5 opponents.

"It’s real,” he said. “I don’t think we can (lag behind) indefinitely.”

• The pending football series with Notre Dame. When BYU announced it was going independent in 2010, it also announced a six-game series with the Fighting Irish, including two games in Provo. But since that time, Notre Dame has entered into a scheduling agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Cougars have played twice in South Bend, but there are no trips for Notre Dame to Provo on the docket.

"We’re going to work it out one way or the other,” Holmoe said. "If (the Fighting Irish) come to play here, that would be great. If they don’t, we’ll come to a settlement and part as friends."

• The status of BYU’s relationship with the Pac-12. The Cougars are scheduled to play 10 of the 12 Pac-12 teams over the next decade.

"I think it’s a really solid relationship. We have a peer relationship with them,” Holmoe said. “I see no reason why it would change … The Pac-12 has been great to us. We have a lot of games with (the Pac-12) because it works for them. It’s a natural fit. We’re in a great spot to play Pac-12 teams in all sports.”

A more in-depth report on Holmoe's comments will be posted later in the day.
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I did hear one of the clips where he said he wasn't worried about getting a bowl game this year--but that he couldn't share anything. He said the parties he is working with had reasons that they did not want to make things public so he is honoring their wishes. But he is confident that if BYU is bowl eligible, they will get a game to play.

It does suck that ND may not make it on the schedule after all. I guess some $$$ would be a consolation prize. The original deal said 6 games by 2020 and only 2 have happened. It doesn't sound like Holmoe intends to go to South Bend again unless ND comes to Provo. And fair enough--we gave them 2 games already.

[YNot]

I did hear one of the clips where he said he wasn't worried about getting a bowl game this year--but that he couldn't share anything. He said the parties he is working with had reasons that they did not want to make things public so he is honoring their wishes. But he is confident that if BYU is bowl eligible, they will get a game to play.

I don't have time to find the link, but there was an MWC report several months ago stating that they would not play in the Hawaii Bowl in 2015 or the Las Vegas Bowl in 2019. That would fit well into BYU's future bowl scenarios.