Governor Cox, legislator Utah celebrate Byu Football and Tom Holmoe – Deseret News

The BYU soccer team invited the legislators of Utah on Wednesday in Utahs Capitol to celebrate its 2024 season and honor sports director Tom Holmoe before retirement.

Members of the team, the coaching staff, Cosmo the Cougar, Holmoe and BYU President C. Shane Reese began their visit to the Senate with their Alamo Bowl Trophy.

There, Senator Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper, hired an official quote that the football team recognized “to demonstrate sporty excellence, sportiness and community leadership both on and outside the field”.

It was signed by Cullimore, the Senate President Stuart Adams, the spokesman for House, Mike Schultz and MP Jordan Teuscher, R-Süd Jordan.

Another quote was then read in which Holmoe recognized “for his impressive career”, in which he raised “Byu Athletics to new altitude during his term and left an undeniable brand and inheritance under his leadership.

According to BYU, BYU achieved four national championships and the regular seasonal and post-season championships of the conference season and post-season championships and 350 student athletes.

After the Senate meeting, the team was recognized in the House of Representatives. Before both quotes were read again, Rep. John Hawkins, who was wearing a BYU tie, highlighted the team as the “Den de -Facto people of the Big 12” and praised his “Stampede” of the Colorado Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl.

“Thank you for representing our state well. Thank you for everything you are doing well in our culture in our communities, ”said Hawkins.

The visit of Byu culminated in a ceremony to Holmoe, at the quarterback Jake Retzlaff, head coach Kalani Sitake, Reese, Holmoe and Utah governor Spencer Cox before Cox explained Wednesday in Utah.

What Jake Retzlaff said about Tom Holmoe

Retzlaff praised Holmoe that he was “a different guy with whom I could speak or to lean on when I needed advice.”

“It's super cool for a man like me who came in here as a transfer to a junior college to connect me with an advertisement as I have,” said Retzlaff. “This type here is something special. He made my journey even better here. He only allowed me to grow up in so many ways and show me the way. “

What Kalani Sitake said

Sitake spoke about the friendship and mentorship that Holmoe has provided over the years and will not be on Holmoes retired.

“However, I failed to convince him to make another year. I kept telling him that he was telling him more and more, “Let's just pull together.” If you didn't guess it, he played far ahead of me, ”said Sitake.

Sitake also spoke of his team and the origin of his culture, which was praised on the Capitol Hill.

“I think a lot of people, they highlighted the culture of our team today to praise us today, but the culture – which comes from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but what is even more important how Lavell Edwards could introduce to us as a player,” he said.

What President C. Shane Reese said about Tom Holmoe

Reese recognized Holmoe for his “decades of a respected leadership and service to Byu and the broader community”.

“At BYU we often talk about Christian leadership, and Tom lived. He never went halfway or gave half a effort. If you need evidence, only look at his legendary Halloween costumes. He has gave his all as a student athlete, a trainer and as a BYU sports director for more than 20 years. “

He added that Holmoe Byu “helped as a university and as a sports program on new hills and mountains to BYU climb”.

What Governor Cox said about Byu Football and Tom Holmoe

Cox started his comments by joking, he was grateful that byu allowed him to “get up here and to say some great things about a puma”.

He announced that he grew up a Byu fan and was one of the fans that they would see in BYU games with a white “y” on his blue-painted breast.

The governor thanked the BYU players, including those who did not grow up in Utah, for the representation of the state.

“Every time you take this 'y' on your breast and play this game on TV or in another state, people judge our state according to their behavior, and this applies to all of our universities. … they were not assigned as representatives of the state of Utah, but they are the representative I am as governor of Utah, ”he said.

He then turned to Holmoe, from whom he claimed that he had monitored BYU Echtahletics during the “most difficult and turbulent years in the history of college athletics”.

“As a student of history and as a sports junkie, I am confident that no other sports director or sports director in the history of our country had to go through what he has gone through in the past 10 years,” said Cox.

The governor listed the Covid 19 pandemic, Nil, the transfer portal, the independence of the conference, the realignment of the conference and accession to the BIG 12.

“Nobody ever had to navigate all of this and then come out to the other side to do better than anyone in the country, maybe someone in the country,” he said.

In all of this, Holmoe showed a big character, said Cox.

“There are many successful people out there who are ready to cut corners. They are ready to undermine other people who are willing to use their authority position to tear down other people. He is not one who has never done that. He was exactly the opposite. In fact, he used his position to distract others, his position to raise everyone else around him and not take any recognition, ”he said.

What Tom Holmoe said at 'Tom Holmoe Day'

Byus visit ended with comments by Holmoe. The sporting director of 20 years thanked his gratitude for the friendly feelings that shared during the visit about him and the team.

Then he thought on his trip to BYU. Holmoe was a “Californian boy” through and through when he came to BYU for the first time, but the state of Utah is now his home, he said on Wednesday.

“When I came here in 1978, I flew in. We drove from Salt Lake Airport to Provo and thought: «What happened all over the world? What do I do on this recruitment trip? 'And now all these years later I am a citizen of the state of Utah. This is my home and I love this state and it is particularly true because of the great people, ”he said.

Holmoe listed none of the titles that BYU won during his term when he thought about the last 20 years. Instead, he focused on what he described as the highlight of his time as sports director: the people of the state of Utah and the people of Byu.

“The biggest feeling that I have in these years is only on student athletes and the coaches and the administrators with whom I had the chance to rub my shoulders, and because they had made so great in the roles that they had every 20 years, and then somehow accentuated my role.”

He added his own wisdom to ensure that these highlights do not change.

“No matter what age you, which year or in what year you are at school, remember that the more you will be the more you can do as the individual to bless other people's lives and the better they will be around them,” he said.