Steve Young and Tom Holmoe crossed paths as teammates for three seasons at BYU. Young was a rookie quarterback while Holmoe anchored the defense as a skilled veteran. When Young made his first start as a sophomore against Utah State in 1981, Holmoe, a junior, had his back in the secondary.
The two Cougar stars have kept a close eye on each other ever since and both enjoyed tutelage by the same legends — LaVell Edwards at BYU and Bill Walsh at San Francisco.
Holmoe was drafted by the 49ers in 1983 while Young was acquired by San Francisco in a trade with Tampa Bay in 1987. Each have multiple Super Bowl rings from their days in the Bay Area. But for the last 20 years, Young has watched Holmoe shepherd the Cougars' athletic department in a most unique way.
“Tom built a partnership with every athlete. It was always personal,” Young told the Deseret News Thursday from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. “He was primarily the athletic director ‘to the one.’”
On Wednesday, Holmoe announced his retirement, effective in August. Among his accomplishments include steering BYU’s football program out of the Mountain West Conference and through 12 years as an independent, while other sports excluding men’s volleyball, competed in the West Coast Conference.
Three years ago, on Sept. 10, 2021, BYU was invited to join the Big 12 in all sports, but men’s volleyball, and become a longed-for member of the lucrative Power Four fraternities.
In December, with Holmoe watching on the sideline, the Cougars capped an 11-2 football season by routing No. 23 Colorado in the Alamo Bowl — a game that garnered the highest television audience (8 million) with the richest payout ($8 million) in program history. BYU finished the year ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25.
There have been plenty of bumps along the way, and with the transfer portal and NIL, today’s college game is very different from the one Young and Holmoe suited up for. However, the left-handed quarterback has always believed his right-handed safety was the right man for the job.
“A spirit pervaded the whole (athletic) department that felt fair and kind, demanded excellence and it got the most out of you,” Young said. “In the end, for 20 years he developed athletes and Saints. He was the perfect AD for BYU, and I can’t thank him enough.”
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.