This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

BYU's football team is conducting another scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium this morning — Thursday morning — but once again the two-hour workout is closed to the public and the media.

Coach Kalani Sitake said after last Saturday's scrimmage at LES that he plans to have open practices and scrimmages next year and beyond, but wants to take advantage this year of the element of surprise, since new coaches are installing new offensive and defensive strategies.

Oddly enough, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe was asked about that Wednesday in his annual Education Week appearance. A patron wanted to know why the scrimmages are closed.

"Kalani chose not to [open them]. It is really a strategic thing. He is saying, no one knows what we are going to do, what we will run. I will just [keep it that way]," Holmoe said, then told a story about how a group was invited to watch practice the other day and one individual proceeded to give a play by play account on the Internet.

"Our opponents will read that. They are competitive. They want to get every advantage that they can," Holmoe said. "It didn't help us a bit."

You can read more about what Holmoe said at Education Week in this account in today's Tribune. Here's more, from a blog I posted last night.

If that wasn't enough, I've gone through all 55 minutes of the Q&A and pulled out even more of Holmoe's comments.

Here they are:

* On BYU's relationship with ESPN:

"They love us," Holmoe said, "I would say ESPN, we have a great relationship with them. … When we had an opportunity to go independent, they wanted us."

* On whether BYU sports being a missionary tool for the LDS Church:

"If you go to a game on the road, it is pretty amazing. My sister is a great example of the missionary effort, I guess you could say that. She is not a member of the church. One of her favorite TV shows is American Ride. How in the world could she tune into American Ride there in L.A? It is because she watches BYU football, or BYU sports, on BYUtv. When she turned the TV back on, American Ride was on."

* On BYU's relationship with Utah Valley University:

"It is good. … We play them a lot. We are going to go play a basketball game at UVU — our men's basketball team. You got a ticket? Good luck. That's going to hurt us."

* On BYU's basketball practice facility and when it will open:

"The Marriott Center annex. It will open sometime in October. Hopefully early (the season starts Oct. 15.). Holmoe said no tours are available yet, and then told the story of how all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws was kicked out of the Richards PE Building for not having a wristband.

"Very obedient student employee," Holmoe said.

* If BYU is 9-0 going into November, will games vs. UMass, SUU and USU keep BYU out of College Football Playoff:

Holmoe joked that the attendee was wearing deep blue goggles, then noted that it "all depends on the other teams that are ahead of you." He said he likes the CFP and knows men and women on the committee: "They work extraordinarily hard."

* How long will contract with Nike last:

"The contract with Nike usually goes for about — different for sports, football, basketball," Holmoe said. "All coaches have contracts with Nike, too. On sideline, coaches under contract to wear Nike." He said contract could be anywhere from 4-6 years. Is BYU's close to UCLAs? Nope. I am happy for UCLA. They earned it. Nike is another partner of ours, like ESPN. What year did BYU start wearing Nike shoes? Answer is 1975. LaVell Edwards liked Nike. He is on mural at Nike headquarters in Oregon.

* What is the timeframe for LES expansion:

Holmoe asked Duff Tittle if he wanted to answer that one, then said, "Quite frankly, we haven' t had sellouts the last couple of years. So, I Don't know if it would be financially responsible to put in cheapest, worst-view seats. For what reason? It would look great from aerial photography, though."

* On what BYU will do with Provo High property and whether BYU will use new football field:

"Not to my knowledge. I am not sure what the university is going to do with the Provo High property. I really don't know. … don't know of any plans for it."

* On what Greg Wrubell's new role will be:

"Greg Wrubell's role is voice of the Cougars. … We feel that we can use Greg in a lot of different ways. So we would like to try to use Greg in more media areas to take advantage of his loyalty, his great knowledge."

* An attendee asked Holmoe to comment on Sunday play and if BYU will ever do it:

"We won't play on Sunday. I've made that perfectly clear," he said.

* Holmoe was asked to name the top 10 athletes at BYU. He declined, but asked his administrative assistant, Gillian, and she said she could name the nicest athletes. She said receiver Nick Kurtz and running back Jamaal Williams come to mind, but that all the athletes are nice, really.

* A woman in the audience asked if Holmoe foresees BYU ever bringing back wrestling:

Holmoe called it the "annual question," nd said, bluntly, No. He said that there are not a lot of schools that wrestle, aside from UVU. It was a great sport at BYU, he acknowledged.

* The last question was why BYU rugby matches are not televised.

Holmoe said he gets asked that a lot. He reminded the audience that rugby is a club sport at BYU and therefore not under his purview.

"Athletics doesn't control the TV production schedule," he said, noting that it is a question for BYUtv officials to answer.