This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe held another roundtable discussion with reporters who cover BYU sports on Wednesday morning, something he tries to do about two times a year. You can read about the most newsworthy item discussed today — Holmoe's acknowledgement that the NCAA will likely render a decision on the results of BYU's self-reported improper benefits investigation in the next few days — in this report in The Salt Lake Tribune. Holmoe answered dozens of questions in the chat that lasted 55 minutes, then several more in front of television cameras for about 11 minutes. For that video, check the blog published before this one. The athletic director was asked about the future of the Notre Dame-BYU series that called for six games to be played between the football independents when the Cougars announced their independence in 2010. Two have already been played — both in South Bend, Ind. The next matchup was supposed to be played in Provo. Basically, Holmoe said the future of the series is in jeopardy. BYU officials have been fearing this would happen since 2012 when the Irish agreed to play five football games a year against ACC schools, beginning in 2014. "The Notre Dame series is in question right now, because they changed everything. I get that. I am not … I think what happened when they had this opportunity to go and do this special arrangement with the ACC, it changed things," Holmoe said. "They weren't going to go, 'oh, we got this BYU series.'" Holmoe said he speaks to Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick quite often, and understands the Irish's predicament. "We want that series. And they would like it to happen. It is not easy to make those games work, because Notre Dame, they can play just about anywhere. Not everybody, but most schools would want that series. So you can see in the news, and the reason I am being kinda open about this, is you can see it. They release [news] that they are going to play this game, and you are like, 'whoa, what happened to that game?' And not just with us, but with other big-time schools. So you can see their schedule changing all the time. We will have to make a deal on that, as far [as] getting the next game in Provo, or a buyout, or whatever it might be. But I would rather wait with them to get the game." BYU is not alone in getting stood up by the Irish. Notre Dame canceled a three-game series with Michigan, a longtime rival. Others have also been dropped from Notre Dame's future schedules.