CBS: BYU AD Tom Holmoe: 'Intention' is to find Power 5 home in 'near future'

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per CBS:

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe had no shortage of news to deliver at a campus event Tuesday, according to the Deseret News, as he touched on the topics of the team's Miami Beach Bowl brawl discipline, its unscheduled future home games vs. Notre Dame, its relationships with the Pac-12 and ESPN, and more.

But Holmoe's most eyebrow-raising comments came in regards to BYU's future as an independent football program -- or, if the Cougars have their way, their future as something else.

"It's our intention that we would be playing in what they commonly call a 'Power 5' conference sometime in the near future," Holmoe said, per the Desert News. "We're trying to put together games ... that would give us a position to better ourselves, and play in the biggest games that we can, meaning that would be conference championships and, the New Year's Day games and [the College Football Playoff].”

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...ention-is-to-find-power-5-home-in-near-future

Go Gophers!!
 

Interesting. The BYU prohibition of Sunday games might be something that which would cause the conferences balk at inviting them. Could be a big deal, might be nothing.
 

Who knows but the Big 12 seems like the most likely landing spot if BYU were to join a Power 5. The PAC-12 already has Utah so that state is covered assuming conference expansion is all about extending their national exposure. I could be wrong but I don’t think BYU has much of a national following outside of a relatively few number of Mormons (this is not intended as a slam BTW). I'm just not sure what BYU brings to the table that would make them so lucrative to anyone but maybe the Big 12 which needs a couple more teams?
 

The dreg Big 12 is the perfect spot for the dreg that is BYU.
 

MNGoldenGophers1 said:
I could be wrong but I don’t think BYU has much of a national following outside of a relatively few number of Mormons (this is not intended as a slam BTW). I'm just not sure what BYU brings to the table that would make them so lucrative to anyone but maybe the Big 12 which needs a couple more teams?
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I'm pretty sure that BYU DOES have a national due to their Mormon allegiance, and this makes them pretty attractive to the Big XII.
 



Less than 2% of the US population is Mormon. Catholics are 25%. I think Notre Dame might have a significantly larger following nationally.
 

gophmeister said:
Less than 2% of the US population is Mormon. Catholics are 25%. I think Notre Dame might have a significantly larger following nationally.
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There are still about 7 million Mormons living in the US. Just because Notre Dame is a bigger draw doesn't mean BYU couldn't be an asset for the Big 12.
 

go_gophers said:
There are still about 7 million Mormons living in the US. Just because Notre Dame is a bigger draw doesn't mean BYU couldn't be an asset for the Big 12.
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And just because one is Catholic doesn't mean that they automatically cheer for Notre Dame. Wheras if one is Mormon, chances are they are very big backers of all things BYU.
 



The Big 12 needs to get to 12 again. They need the Conference Championship to be in consideration for the National Championship. Offering BYU on the Western Slope of the Rockies is kind of a problem, and the conference would extend from Utah to West Virginia. The Big 12 is basically a hybrid of the Big 8 and the Old Southwest Conference. I am not sure they fit.

Pac 12? or Pac 20? They would get lost. Their natural rivals are Utah, Utah State, and Boise State. If they are going to go the Independent Route, they must out schedule Notre Dame. They have to take the games anywhere, anytime. When Notre Dame and Michigan dropped their series, step up. Play Michigan home and away. SEC has all kinds of cup cake games, call them on it. Play and SEC team home and away. Take on a Big 12 Team, Take on a Pac 12 team, play a National Schedule. Do that an you have every right to claim as Notre Dame does you play a national Schedule and are deserving of a shot.
 

Big 12 should add them and SMU or UNLV. Not exactly power programs, but gets them to the magic #.
 

Ideally the Big 12 Should offer Colorado State and Houston. It would benefit the conference, the schools offered.
 

go_gophers said:
There are still about 7 million Mormons living in the US. Just because Notre Dame is a bigger draw doesn't mean BYU couldn't be an asset for the Big 12.
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I'm not saying they can't be an asset to the Big XII, just that as a percentage of population they do not have what could be called a national following any where near what Notre Dame and would need every Mormon in the country tuned in every Saturday. Does Baylor have a national following of Baptists? There's a reason Notre Dame has its own tv contract and doesn't want to join a conference. I'm not sure BYU makes must sense for any Power 5 conference since it's so far away from the Big XII and the PAC 12 seems to be fine where they're at and probably don't want the hassle of adding BYU as well as diluting each schools share of revenue. If I were the Big XII I'd take aim at CSU and Houston. Fort Collins is a pretty easy drive from all the former Big 8 schools still in the conference. BYU would require more travel spending from each school and reap little or no return in tv money.
 



If Notre Dame is an option for the Big 12, they should definitely add them. If not, I'm not sure how Notre Dame is relevant to the conversation. Of course Notre Dame has a larger following. They may have a the largest national audience in college football. By that logic, CSU and Houston would be ill-fitting as well. Distance could definitely be a factor, though.
 

CSU would be an add to the North, Houston to the South. Travel? Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado State. South, Texas, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor, West Virginia? and Houston. Travel in the North is no different than old Big 8. The south is the old Southwest Conference. With the exception of West Virginia they all play in the Central Time Zone.

Notre Dame had staunchly held to the independent schedule, that is the only reason they are in the conversation.
 

go_gophers said:
If Notre Dame is an option for the Big 12, they should definitely add them. If not, I'm not sure how Notre Dame is relevant to the conversation. Of course Notre Dame has a larger following. They may have a the largest national audience in college football. By that logic, CSU and Houston would be ill-fitting as well. Distance could definitely be a factor, though.
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I wasn't suggesting Notre Dame as a candidate or saying the only factor to consider is if the school is a national draw, only pointing out that if you're going to say one school is a national draw because it's associated with a religion that religion better constitute more than 1.7% of the population.
 

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