Analysis: New BYU athletic director Brian Santiago extends an olive branch to his detractors

Amidst all the hugging, backslapping and talk of the vision, unity and unparalleled success of BYU’s athletic department the past few years, there was an elephant in the room, for lack of a better description, Wednesday morning in the BYU Broadcasting Building.

The issue is this: Brian Santiago, BYU’s longtime deputy AD who was just picked to replace legendary outgoing athletic director Tom Holmoe, has been a polarizing figure in the BYU athletic department for more than a decade.

His promotion, as much as a no-brainer as it seems to be, has not been unanimously viewed as a positive development within BYU’s worldwide fanbase and even the halls of the Student Athlete Building, especially when compared to Holmoe’s hiring in 2005.

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The former fiery point guard at Utah Valley State College (now UVU) and Fresno State has developed his fair share of detractors over the past couple of decades in Provo.

Of course, Santiago knows this. It’s no secret. That’s why he called it a “great question” when he was asked in a media scrum after the televised portions of his news conference about it, and offered a heartfelt, sincere answer.

“I would just say to people, ‘Let’s go on this journey together, and the more that we can interact with each other, the more you see who I really am as a person,’” Santiago said.

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Santiago didn’t apologize for his style, but he did remind reporters that he is not the same person he was when he began his career at BYU in 1997 by joining Steve Cleveland’s basketball coaching staff.

He is not even the same guy who publicly jawed with a prominent WCC basketball coach near press row a decade ago in the Marriott Center.

“We are who we are, and I feel like I can stand with confidence in who I am. I think that part of my competitive nature came with me when I was born into this world,” he told the Deseret News. “But what I would say to those people (not on board) is that I can’t wait to get to know them better, and they are going to see that I am not the same person now that I was 27 years ago.”

To this reporter, that was evident last November at the end of the BYU-Arizona State football game in Tempe, as ASU students stormed the field twice, taunted BYU’s players and coaches, and created an ugly scene that tested the patience of every person on the Cougars’ sideline, including Santiago and Holmoe.

Santiago remained cool, calm and collected through it all, and was nowhere near the so-called “hot-head” that, frankly, many reporters on the scene expected him to be. BYU’s administrators, players and coaches exhibited remarkable restraint, led by Santiago and Holmoe’s example.

“Through a lot of incredible leaders, through a lot of incredible mentors, (including) some of the presidents of this university that I have had a chance to meet and to work closely with … I have (changed),” Santiago said, referencing Cecil Samuelson, Kevin Worthen and current BYU president C. Shane Reese, the man who hired him and said Wednesday that Santiago emerged as the best choice after he traveled “thousands of miles” and interviewed more than 50 individuals who were interested in the job.

“These are people that have helped mentor and really show me that you can be competitive, you can be super passionate, but you can also do it in a way with love and compassion so that it kind of takes some of that edge off,” Santiago said.

Clearly, this man came to BYU with an edge to his personality. But he also comes to this new position as the most qualified candidate imaginable. It makes one wonder why it took Reese and company more than three months to make the decision.

Santiago won the news conference Wednesday, and likely won over some of his detractors. He was at times humble, passionate, exuberant and spiritual. Most of all, he exuded grace and poise, traits that have perhaps eluded his public persona in the past.

“The process has been remarkable, nothing short of remarkable,” Reese said. “I wouldn’t change anything about the process as we went along. We learned things about the passion for Cougar sports all around the country. We learned things about how much BYU athletics means. In fact, during one of these interviews, someone mentioned that BYU alumni might be too passionate about Cougar sports. I don’t know that there is such a thing as being too passionate about Cougar sports.”

“There’s not,” Santiago interjected, drawing laughter.

After calling Holmoe, who was present, “a true BYU legend,” Reese said there is probably nobody on earth who has attended more BYU sporting events than Santiago, and no one else they interviewed had 27 years of experience in college athletics.

“It also helps that Brian bleeds blue,” Reese said.

Back in the media scrum, Santiago said the more his detractors get to know him, the more they will understand what makes him tick. He insisted he’s got a soft side.

“People see the public side. And last I checked, we are in a world of college athletics that is highly competitive. If you are not in the competitive world, you are going to get run over,” he said. “We are going to chase excellence, and we are going to chase greatness.”

Santiago said he’s come a long way from the mercurial administrator who couldn’t watch an entire game sitting in one seat, and one who had to put himself in “timeout” or go for walks to cool off.

“Some of those maybe rough edges are softened, and I just hope that people can see the personal side to me and really see how much I care about people,” he said. “I think our coaches and student-athletes would tell you they get to see that side of me and they know how all-in I am for them and their lives, not just for sport.”

Football to remain a priority at BYU

Another concern about Santiago from Cougar Nation that’s been expressed on social media websites and message boards is that he cares more about basketball — one of the 11 sports he’s overseen as deputy AD — than football.

He quickly put an end to that discussion Wednesday, saying the first thing on his calendar was to meet Wednesday afternoon with head football coach Kalani Sitake — who was present at the news conference — and Sitake’s staff.

“Football drives the ship. There is nothing more important at BYU than our football program. We have an exceptional head coach. This is an exceptional human being, an exceptional leader. And the staff that he has put around him is exceptional,” Santiago said. “That is driving the ship.”

Santiago said he was there when Sitake was first interviewed, calling it “one of the great experiences I have had in my time in college athletics.”

He also said that he was heavily involved in the hiring of Kevin Young as BYU’s basketball coach a year ago, and that first interview with Young was also inspirational.

He said every indication he’s received from Young is that the former NBA assistant is “locked in” to BYU, even as rumors persist that he could be pursued again this offseason by an NBA franchise, most notably his former employer, the Phoenix Suns.

“Everybody knows my (involvement) with Kevin Young and the basketball program. Those (two sports) lead the charge. We have to be prepared, and to be at the top of our game in those two (sports),” he said. “But we are not going to sacrifice the rest of our athletic department. We are all in for every one of our coaches and programs and we expect excellence and we are going to chase excellence. That’s where it starts and stops.”

On that, his message is also simple: jump on board or be left behind.

“There’s never been a better time to be a part of BYU athletics than right now. In this ever-changing landscape of college athletics, the idea that we can compete at the very highest level, and do it the right way, is inspiring for all of us,” he said. “We need you. We need your family. We need your friends. We need everybody to go all in. Because we are all in. Every single one of us in this athletic department is united in carrying out the mission of this great institution.”