BYU football: Holmoe: 'Things are playing out'

PROVO — For now, the future of BYU sports is fraught with uncertainty.

Nobody knows this better than the school's athletic director, Tom Holmoe.

"Things are playing out right now. I'll check my e-mail and literally things will have changed in the last hour. It's amazing," Holmoe told the Deseret News Thursday after he delivered a presentation as part of his annual Education Week address on campus. "We have people who are watching it and monitoring it on a regular basis."

Which is why Holmoe said he can't say much about BYU's situation.

On Thursday, during Education Week, Holmoe spoke publicly for the first time since reports about BYU going independent surfaced.

While talking with the Deseret News, Holmoe reached into his pocket to answer his phone. "Let me get this," he said. "It's my boss."

Then Holmoe turned, answered the call, and briskly walked away — presumably returning to his office on lower campus.

There have been a whirlwind of rumors, reports and speculation the past 36 hours as it appeared BYU was close to leaving the Mountain West Conference, going independent in football, and playing its other sports in the Western Athletic Conference.

BYU released a statement Wednesday that did not confirm or deny the reports of going independent, only that BYU "has been reviewing, and will continue to explore, every option to advance its athletic program."

The situation became more complex Wednesday night, when the MWC announced that two WAC members, Fresno State and Nevada, were joining the MWC, leaving the WAC with only six football-playing institutions.

About 150 fans showed up for Holmoe's address in an auditorium at the Kimball Tower. During the address, he discussed for about 50 minutes the top 20 highlights of the BYU sports year. Afterward, for about 10 minutes, he fielded questions from Education Week attendees.

"Let's be real. There's a lot of things going on in the athletic department and around the country," Holmoe said before taking questions. "As you can tell, it's our policy or procedure that we're not going to play out our business in the media. We don't do that.