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Provo • Brigham Young University welcomes people of all religions, sexual orientations and races to its campus for athletic events and other functions, director of athletics Tom Holmoe told a classroom full of Education Week attendees Wednesday.

Answering a question about whether BYU is being "proactive" in regards to a recent letter penned by LGBT advocacy groups calling for the Big 12 conference to reject the Provo school because of its policies against homosexual behavior from its faculty and students, Holmoe referred to a remark he made on Twitter the day after the letter was made public.

"At BYU, we welcome all people to our campus, for sporting events, for Education Week," Holmoe said. "We realize that over the last 50 years … that not everybody that comes here believes in the things that we do. We have to understand that."

Holmoe said in the 14 years he has been associated with the BYU athletic department that visiting fans, players and coaches have overwhelmingly said they "really enjoyed" the experience.

"We feel like it has been a great experience to host [visitors] and we want to continue to do that," Holmoe said in response to the first of 25 questions from the audience in an hourlong discussion. "That really is my message: We have been doing it for a long time. We do it right, and we will continue to do it right. I call on our people to be [as] hospitable and welcoming and loving as we possibly can. We are not going to change doing that at all."

Holmoe's aforementioned tweet came after The Salt Lake Tribune and other news outlets quoted gay former and current Big 12 athletes as saying they would be hesitant about competing at BYU, or might bypass a trip to the school altogether, out of fear for their safety and well-being.

Holmoe began the annual question-and-answer session by telling the audience that he wouldn't be discussing BYU's chances of joining the Big 12 or fielding questions on that topic. On July 19, the 10 presidents of Big 12 schools directed commissioner Bob Bowlsby to begin researching possible expansion candidates, and BYU was quickly fingered as one of the top candidates.

"I will kick it off right now with the obvious," Holmoe said. "I know that you have a lot of questions regarding our conference and membership. But I will not be able to say anything about any of that. It is the right thing to do, to be respectful of the process and our conference that we are currently in."

BYU, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is independent in football and a member of the West Coast Conference in most of its other sports.

"If you have questions peripheral to that, make them really peripheral," he said, stressing the word really.

One such question regarded whether the "current events" — the letter, obviously — would make it more difficult to find football opponents if the Big 12 shuns BYU.

In the 1960s and 1970s, some schools refused to play the Cougars because of the LDS Church's then-ban on men and boys of black ethnicity holding the faith's all-male priesthood.

"I can't foresee that," Holmoe said, noting that some football games are scheduled out to 2022. "I wouldn't claim to know that. … I don't know if it will be more difficult. We have a lot of good partners out there who have agreed to play us under the conditions that are currently in store. I think that would be the case going forward."

Along with answering the questions, Holmoe asked BYU sports-related trivia questions of the audience, and handed out prizes for the correct responses.He fielded questions about BYU's relationships with the University of Utah, sports television giant ESPN, and sports apparel giant Nike.

All are good, he said, detailing why in every case.

What becomes of the scheduled games against several Power 5 schools if BYU gets into a conference, one attendee wanted to know.

"I've spent a lot of time on that schedule," Holmoe said. "It is not going in the trash."

A hypothetical question about how sophomore Tanner Mangum will respond when senior Taysom Hill is named the starting quarterback drew loud laughter from the audience, and Holmoe answered by saying that both quarterbacks are mature enough to handle coming off the bench and that it won't affect the team's unity.

Since BYU purchased the Provo High property for $25 million in April, rumors have abounded that the school might use it for athletic purposes, perhaps even a new football stadium. Holmoe said he really doesn't know what BYU plans to do with the property.

Asked about a "time frame" to expand 63,000-seat LaVell Edwards Stadium, Holmoe said it is not currently being considered because there is no reason to do so. BYU hasn't had any sellouts the past few years, he said.

A question about whether BYU's donors will "step up" and help the athletic department close the gap between revenue garnered by Power 5 schools and non-Power 5 schools such as BYU was met by Holmoe saying that the donors already have stepped up in a big way and he is appreciative of the worldwide support the athletic department receives from all walks of life.