Monson: Tom Holmoe picks up the BYU pom-poms, tells fans that 'independence is working'

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Tom Holmoe did what he had to do on Friday in his sports version of a General Conference talk wrapped in a one-man pep rally wrapped in a state-of-the-program address aimed at BYU fans, fans who were anxious and worried and curious after the school was kicked to the curb by the Big 12.

He bucked them up. He gave them hope. He reminded them that BYU is a "distinctive" university built on faith and strength. He darn near quoted "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba, highlighting the notion that when BYU gets knocked down, it gets up again — and that as it does so, ESPN will televise every minute of it.

He called the school's partnership with ESPN strong.

He gave no specific indication of what will happen when BYU's deal with the network ends in a couple of years.

He said, as far as football scheduling goes, the Cougars will play "anyone, anywhere, anytime." Except for on Sundays.

Holmoe underscored what he has said in the past — that exposure for and access to BYU football for Cougars fans and for those who might want to know more is ample and that it will go on being exactly that. He said that only two football schools in the country have had every game this season broadcast on national television: BYU and You-Know-Who … yeah, Notre Dame.

He reassured the faithful that BYU is OK, more than OK, really OK, super OK, more OK than it thought it was, almost as OK as it would have been had the Big 12 actually let it in, and certainly OK enough for all Cougars fans to continue to support it emotionally and financially. He thanked boosters and donors, from the weak to the wealthy, and essentially told them BYU was and is worthy of their continued boosting and donating in the years ahead.

He called the future of BYU sports "fantastic."

He noted the "30,000" BYU fans who showed up at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale for the Cougars' football season opener against Arizona.

And he said: "We are building the next generation of BYU fans."

While acknowledging the substantial monetary benefits of being in a P5 conference, benefits BYU doesn't have, he said the athletic programs at BYU are as sound financially as they've ever been. He said BYU teams do more with less than just about anybody.

Of all the things the Cougars athletic director said in his BYUtv-televised rally, the most significant was a retraction of earlier comments that football independence isn't sustainable. All that stuff uttered by the former BYU football coach who now is a Wahoo can be tossed aside.

"Football independence is working," Holmoe said.

Not only is it sustainable and working, he said, it is thriving. He said all the school's goals for football independence have not only been met, they've been surpassed. He mentioned the success of other sports, too, the ones jammed into the Church League — the West Coast Conference — and suggested that all is well.

Other viable options are, of course, rather slim.

He did say there was much work yet to do, but that "we can do it."

He said BYU has learned some things along the way, ways to improve, one would presume. There's obvious room for that.

Holmoe was short on details about the whole seemingly fruitless journey down the Big 12 rat hole — OK, he didn't use that exact term — but he said the process had an interesting effect on BYU. Despite its ultimate rejection, that process boosted the school's self-esteem. It revealed to itself that the football team and the athletics department are stronger than school officials formerly thought they were.

Takeaways: BYU isn't apologizing for or shrinking away from what it is, it's celebrating it and shouting it to the world. Holmoe said if another P5 opportunity arises, the school would be prepared to launch into it. In the meantime, the kids are all right. Those who suspected that BYU football and sports in general were vulnerable to a downgrade or elimination are wrong.

The Cougars are soldiering on, straight into whatever cold winds blow right into their grilles.

Just like one of the worst songs — though a determined one — ever written says: "[They] get knocked down, but [they] get up again. You are never gonna keep [them] down. [They] get knocked down, but [they] get up again. You are never gonna keep [them] down."

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on the Zone Sports Network, 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.