Tom Holmoe
Encyclopedia
Thomas Allen Holmoe is the current athletic director
at Brigham Young University
. He is a former college and professional American football
defensive back
and coach
.
in La Crescenta, Calif.
Holmoe played as a cornerback
and safety at Brigham Young University from 1978-1982. As a sophomore in 1980, he led the Western Athletic Conference
with seven interceptions
. Holmoe went on to earn all-WAC honors as a senior in 1982. The Cougars won the conference championship in each of his four seasons at the school.
by the San Francisco 49ers
. He played seven seasons for the 49ers, winning Super Bowl
s with the team in 1984
, 1988
and 1989
, before retiring due to a knee injury.
to return to BYU as a graduate assistant. In 1992, Holmoe accepted an offer from Bill Walsh to join his staff at Stanford University
as the defensive backs coach. Holmoe remained at Stanford for two seasons, helping the Cardinal become the Pac-10 co-conference champions in 1992 with a 10-3 overall record, including a win over Penn State
in the Blockbuster Bowl
.
Holmoe then returned to the 49ers, serving as George Seifert
's defensive backfield coach for two seasons, where he coached such superstars as Deion Sanders
, Merton Hanks
, and Eric Davis. As defensive backfield coach, he won a fourth Super Bowl in 1994. Two years later in 1996, Holmoe joined the University of California, Berkeley
staff as defensive coordinator
under Steve Mariucci
.
Following Mariucci's departure to the NFL in 1997, Holmoe was named his successor as head coach
. By his own admission, Holmoe's tenure was far from successful. During his five year tenure at Cal, he compiled a 16-39 record, including a 9-31 record in Pac-10 play and a 1-10 season in 2001, the worst in the Golden Bears' history. Holmoe went 0-5 against archrival Stanford
and failed to reach a bowl game as head coach. Holmoe resigned at the end of the 2001 season.
Shortly afterward, the Bears were found guilty of major NCAA violations when it emerged that a professor retroactively added two football players to a class he'd taught the previous spring in order to keep them eligible. Athletic department officials knew that the players were ineligible, but didn't tell anyone about it. As a result, the NCAA slapped Cal with five years' probation, stripped the Bears of their four victories from the 1999 season, banned them from postseason play in 2002 and took away nine scholarships over four years.
, who has led BYU's football team back to national prominence, and head men's basketball coach Dave Rose
, who has returned BYU's men's basketball team to consistent Mountain West Conference
championships and NCAA tournament
appearances.
, with his wife Lori and their four children. Holmoe's brother Steve, a physical education
teacher and assistant football coach at Glendale High School
, was a strong safety at UCLA before sustaining a career-ending injury.
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
. He is a former college and professional American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
and coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
.
College
After graduating from Crescenta Valley High SchoolCrescenta Valley High School
Crescenta Valley High School is a secondary school located at 2900 Community Avenue in La Crescenta-Montrose, an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The school is a part of the Glendale Unified School District....
in La Crescenta, Calif.
La Crescenta-Montrose, California
La Crescenta-Montrose is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, encompassing those parts of the Crescenta Valley not in the cities of Glendale or La Cañada Flintridge. However, both the unincorporated area and the portion of incorporated Glendale...
Holmoe played as a cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
and safety at Brigham Young University from 1978-1982. As a sophomore in 1980, he led the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
with seven interceptions
Interception (football)
An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...
. Holmoe went on to earn all-WAC honors as a senior in 1982. The Cougars won the conference championship in each of his four seasons at the school.
Professional
Holmoe was drafted in the fourth round of the 1983 NFL Draft1983 NFL Draft
The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983...
by the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
. He played seven seasons for the 49ers, winning Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s with the team in 1984
Super Bowl XIX
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
, 1988
Super Bowl XXIII
Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1989 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1988 regular season. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held...
and 1989
Super Bowl XXIV
Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game played on January 28, 1990 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1989 regular season...
, before retiring due to a knee injury.
Coaching
After retiring from pro football, Holmoe entered the coaching ranks, having been urged by LaVell EdwardsLaVell Edwards
R. LaVell Edwards is a former American football coach of Brigham Young University . With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time...
to return to BYU as a graduate assistant. In 1992, Holmoe accepted an offer from Bill Walsh to join his staff at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
as the defensive backs coach. Holmoe remained at Stanford for two seasons, helping the Cardinal become the Pac-10 co-conference champions in 1992 with a 10-3 overall record, including a win over Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
in the Blockbuster Bowl
Champs Sports Bowl
The Champs Sports Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at the Citrus Bowl. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Capital One Bowl and Florida Classic...
.
Holmoe then returned to the 49ers, serving as George Seifert
George Seifert
George Seifert is a former NFL head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers. Seifert joined the 49ers' coaching staff under Bill Walsh in 1980 as defensive backs coach and served as the team's defensive coordinator from 1983–1988.As a 49er assistant, his defenses finished...
's defensive backfield coach for two seasons, where he coached such superstars as Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders
Deion Luwynn Sanders , nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst...
, Merton Hanks
Merton Hanks
Merton Edward Hanks is a former safety in the National Football League.Hanks attended Lake Highlands High School, where he was a district track and field champion. He went on to the University of Iowa, earning all-Big Ten honors at cornerback...
, and Eric Davis. As defensive backfield coach, he won a fourth Super Bowl in 1994. Two years later in 1996, Holmoe joined the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
staff as defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
under Steve Mariucci
Steve Mariucci
Stephen Ray "Steve" Mariucci is a former National Football League coach. He coached for the San Francisco 49ers and most recently for the Detroit Lions.-Early career:...
.
Following Mariucci's departure to the NFL in 1997, Holmoe was named his successor as head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
. By his own admission, Holmoe's tenure was far from successful. During his five year tenure at Cal, he compiled a 16-39 record, including a 9-31 record in Pac-10 play and a 1-10 season in 2001, the worst in the Golden Bears' history. Holmoe went 0-5 against archrival Stanford
Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...
and failed to reach a bowl game as head coach. Holmoe resigned at the end of the 2001 season.
Shortly afterward, the Bears were found guilty of major NCAA violations when it emerged that a professor retroactively added two football players to a class he'd taught the previous spring in order to keep them eligible. Athletic department officials knew that the players were ineligible, but didn't tell anyone about it. As a result, the NCAA slapped Cal with five years' probation, stripped the Bears of their four victories from the 1999 season, banned them from postseason play in 2002 and took away nine scholarships over four years.
Coaching record
*Cal finished 4-7 (3-5 in conference), but later forfeited the wins due to use of ineligible playersAthletic Administration
After resigning from Cal, Holmoe returned to Brigham Young to serve as Associate Athletic Director. In March 2005, he was appointed the 12th Athletic Director of the University, and the first to oversee both men's and women's athletics. Under his leadership, the Cougars have achieved enormous success, winning 14 conference championships in the 2006-2007 academic year alone. Holmoe has had particular success with his two most conspicuous coaching hires, BYU head football coach Bronco MendenhallBronco Mendenhall
-Personal life:Mendenhall has three children: Raeder-Steel, Breaker, and Cutter. Mendenhall is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-External links:**- References :...
, who has led BYU's football team back to national prominence, and head men's basketball coach Dave Rose
Dave Rose (basketball coach)
David Jack Rose is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the BYU Cougars men's basketball team...
, who has returned BYU's men's basketball team to consistent Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
championships and NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
appearances.
Personal
Holmoe is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He lives in Provo, UtahProvo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
, with his wife Lori and their four children. Holmoe's brother Steve, a physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
teacher and assistant football coach at Glendale High School
Glendale High School (Glendale, California)
Glendale High School is a high school located at 1440 Broadway Avenue East in Glendale, California. The school is the Flagship School of the Glendale Unified School District.-History:...
, was a strong safety at UCLA before sustaining a career-ending injury.