This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Today's BYU vs. West Virginia football game at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., was actually talked about 10 years ago, and finally contracted in 2010 — before West Virginia was in the Big 12 conference.

But an underlying theme for the contest all week has been BYU's quest to join the Big 12, and whether this game is an "audition" for the Cougars. Monday, head coach Kalani Sitake said it wasn't, and that was reiterated by quarterback Taysom Hill on Wednesday.

However, you may have noticed that I talked to BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe about it Friday morning for this piece on the intersectional matchup, and he was pretty frank in saying that it does have some implications for the Cougars.

Why does Holmoe seek out these kinds of games?

" When these opportunities come up, you like to play in these big games," he said, noting that they usually take years of negotiating and shuffling other schedules to get set up. "We are not the anchor team in those games, which works for us [because BYU is not close to an NFL stadium]. Anchor teams have been Mizzou, Oklahoma, West Virginia. Tthey have more responsibility — a greater opportunity to make money and a greater opportunity to lose money. It is really good financially for us, because we help benefit the game and they have been good for our fans. Plus, those games are really good games."

LSU will be the anchor team in next year's opener an NRG Stadium in Houston (home of the Houston Texans). BYU will play UMass at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., in 2018, but that will be considered a UMass home game because the Minutemen play most of their home games in that stadium.

Coincidentally, UMass hosts Mississippi State at Gillette today in a matchup of teams that will visit LaVell Edwards Stadium later this season.

I asked Holmoe if any other NFL stadiums are on his wish list.

"No, not really," he said.

He acknowledged that the game scheduled against Arizona in Las Vegas in 2021 could possibly be played at the new stadium proposed by Vegas officials.

"It is a possibility, but they've been talking about a new stadium for a long, long time. So really, we just know that Vegas has been a great venue for us. That stadium [Sam Boyd Stadium] has been great for our fans. It is a great location for California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah [fans]. It was an opportunity to play Arizona another time, and good for both of our team. It makes sense."

Holmoe acknowledged that scheduling announcements have slowed down the past few months, mostly because he's filled most of the spots in 2017 and 2018.

"You know, early on, we had to fill a lot of spots," he said. "That's why we announced so many games. We were starting with a clean slate. Now, we have filled a lot of games. We have games scheduled through 2023, even through 2026, a few. We are not full by any means, but with what is going on with our scheduling now, it is probably good to take a little pause. We have games scheduled through the next couple of years, solidly, so I am not concerned about the next couple of years, but as an independent, you have to go out pretty far."

Holmoe said the series with Virginia is still on, despite former BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall's statements when he departed BYU that he doesn't want to ever have to play the Cougars as Virginia's coach.

"I can understand him saying that. It was right at the time of his departure. But those games, that series, is out there a little bit. It will be good when the time comes," Holmoe said.

Finally, I had to ask Holmoe about the Notre Dame series. The Irish still owe BYU a game in Provo, after the Cougars visited South Bend twice.

"There really hasn't been any movement on Notre Dame," Holmoe said. "A lot of it has to do with the fact that they have a scheduling agreement with the ACC. I understand that. It is something that could happen with us, some day. It happened with Utah, when they went to the Pac-12. So, whenever you have a big scheduling change, people have to understand.

I know our fans love that game, and the chance to have it in Provo, and then going out to South Bend [was good]. So that is one I am content to let hang in there, to look far [into the future].. I am confident that we can [get it scheduled] one day."