9 min read

Let's Build A College Athletic Director One Trait At A Time

Let's Build A College Athletic Director One Trait At A Time

Tom Holmoe is retiring. This is a big loss for BYU. For 20 years, Holmoe has led the BYU sports ship through the North Sea of environmental changes. When he took over, regional media deals were still a thing and it was a win to simply have nationally televised game. By the time he left, cable companies were bleeding money and games generated billions of dollars and cared about streaming partners and services. When he started, BYU was in the Mountain West Conference and could pay a head coach a million dollars and expect results. Now, BYU is in the Big 12 Conference and players are making a million dollars.

The times have changed and Holmoe has navigated it all. From henceforth, any "BYU Mount Rushmore" has to start with Holmoe's face next to LaVell's. Those two men are neck-and-neck for the two people who have done the most for BYU sports in the history of the University.

But now he's leaving and BYU has to find a way to replace him. Holmoe was able to shift and evolve with the times, but the times continue to shift and evolve. It's a credit to Holmoe for being malleable with the way he led the program. He was a 'football guy' who had to figure everything else out along the way. He did it exceptionally well.

If we're looking forward, though, finding Holmoe 2.0 seems farfetched. The days of finding the most famous athlete you can to come and be the face of your college program are gone. College sports has changed and so has the job composition of a high-level athletic director.

Today, we're breaking down the ideal traits of an athletic director at BYU. We won't go into names of potential replacements, but we're going to focus on traits. If we can agree on the most important attributes then the names become much easier to sort through in the days to come.

Setting The Stage

We're going start by looking at the conference commissioners who were hired most recently - the Big 12's Brett Yormark and the Big Ten's Tony Petitti. It's important to at least be aware of those moves because it speaks to a macro-level trend that is important for BYU as they conduct their AD search.

Yormark came to the Big 12 without any previous college athletics experience. In his career, he had sold TV time for the NBA, MLB, and NHL. He moved into the sports marketing world as the VP of Corporate Marketing for NASCAR. He was the CEO of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment and the CEO of Roc Nation during his career. He knew sports and worked in sports, but he came from the business of sports, not the sports of sports.

Petitti's background isn't all-too-different. He was a senior executive at CBS Sports where he managed the NFL coverage and played a role in the creation and management of the BCS. He was the COO of Major League Baseball and was the key figure in getting MLB Network launched and broadcasted through nationwide carriers.

Yormark and Petitti don't strike me as athletes in the slightest bit of the word. But they do strike me as integral figures in the modern-day sports landscape. They aren't as renowned as Travis Hunter at Colorado or Ryan Day at Ohio State, but they are equally (and probably more) critical to the success of teams and conferences than any player or head coach. They understand the business of sports, even if they can't play sports a lick.

In case you have been in a coma, college sports look a little different today than they used to. Ticket prices are going up. Every game is televised somewhere. Players are demanding more. Coaches are demanding more. The government is intervening and telling schools and conferences to distribute the immense amount of wealth they have accumulated. College sports are different now... and so are conference commissioners.

Athletic Directors probably need to evolve with the times too. Cashflow is king—revenue matters. Operational efficiency is crucial.

Let's get into the traits.

Tier 1 - Non-Negotiable Must-Haves

  1. A tightly braided rope with Church leadership

There is nothing - NOTHING - more important for the BYU athletic director than to have a vision that is perfectly aligned with the vision that Church leadership has for BYU. That doesn't necessarily mean that BYU's new AD has to simply ask for Church permission and execute their vision, but they can't go rogue and operate outside of the vision of the Church. That means the next AD will need to be able to persuade and sell their vision of BYU athletics to the University leaders and Board of Trustees. They need to be able to maintain a level of excitement and buy-in at the leadership level. The AD is just one strand of the rope that ties BYU and the Church together, but they need to ensure that they do everything in their power to guarantee that the rope is braided together so tightly that it cannot be broken.

  1. An eye focused on fundraising and booster relations

Like it or hate it, boosters matter. BYU has a deep bench of boosters with deep pockets. The next BYU AD must have a vision for an athletic program that captivates and engages those boosters. Despite all of the money that comes into college athletic programs from other sources, booster donations are still the highest-grade gasoline to power the engine. Whether it's NIL or traditional booster clubs, whether it's funding for single projects or building a booster-funded endowment fund, the AD must be able to inspire boosters to continually dig deep into those pockets. It's how successful programs in 2025 survive. It will only become more critical in the years to come.

  1. A creative mind that is willing to look at revenue streams differently

A college AD has to run their athletic departments a little bit like a tech startup company. In a tech company, the tech obviously matters - a product that people want is the nucleus of the entire business. But while the COO and CFO are focused on sales and efficiency, the CEO is constantly focused on finding more ways to generate cash. Sometimes that's new distribution channels or target markets. Sometimes that's new investors and rounds of funding. The CEO has to continually generate cash while simultaneously running a business. It's difficult, but it's the job.

Such is the life of a college AD. Find cash flow. College programs can't survive on ticket and hot dog sales anymore. In addition to the aforementioned booster donations, the AD needs to find additional revenue streams. How can media content of practices and press conferences become a revenue generator on social media or YouTube? How can enhanced experiences in a stadium or at practice lead to additional donations? What kind of corporate partnerships will fund the next practice facility? What about sponsorships? What about luxury suites? What about the offseason? College athletic departments have as many 'products' as Walmart does. The next AD needs to find ways to create shelf space to sell them.

  1. NIL Infrastructure, strategy, and finance skills

I don't know what NIL will look like in a year. Hell, I don't know what NIL really looks like today. But I know NIL is critically important and will remain critically important in years to come. The next AD needs a creative and comprehensive strategy for NIL, whether it exist inside or outside of BYU. This goes beyond a booster strategy. Boosters fund building and stadiums. NIL goes to players and funds rosters and powers winning. The money might come from the same well, but the deployment and allocation of those funds are completely different. BYU's next AD needs a clear vision of both. Having the financial acumen to understand how to be efficient with funds, grow funds, manage budgets, cut waste, and invest in projects that will lead to success is crucial.

  1. Hiring, hiring, hiring

Hiring coaches has always been a critical component of any athletic director's job. Holmoe excelled in this regard, hiring the likes of Dave Rose, Bronco Mendenhall, Mark Pope, Diljeet Taylor, Kalani Sitake, and Kevin Young. Holmoe nailed his coaching hires. At BYU, where the coaching pool is more limited, the next AD needs to continue that trend.

The next AD also has to find a formula for success when it comes to hiring General Managers. That's a new element of college athletics. It's starting in football and trickling into basketball, but it will become more important across the board. The head coach will have a say in the hiring of a GM, but it's the AD whose voice will hold the most weight. The GM manages the incoming 'salary caps' and navigates the individual team payroll. That's an ever-changing target. Having elite-level GMs and roster construction leaders is going to be as important as having elite-level head coaches during the new era of college athletics.

  1. Media and Brand Management

The Stretch Y is known across the world. The BYU name resonates with millions of people. It's not Nike or McDonald's, but it's not some regional burger shop or knock-off shoe brand either. The BYU brand has power, especially in athletics. (And we're not even talking about the brand of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

The next AD becomes the steward of that brand. They need to find ways to unlock its potential and need to ensure to protect its value.

When false accusations of racism occur, it's the AD who goes into crisis mode to protect the BYU brand. When opportunities arise to find conference homes, it's the AD who is responsible for communicating and representing the power of the BYU brand.

BYU fans wear stretch Ys on their clothes and hats, rather than branding their chests, but the next AD needs to understand and fight for the BYU brand the same way John Dutton fought for the Yellowstone brand (but probably without murder and stuff... see point #1).

Tier 2 - Highly Important Traits

  1. Alumni Relations

This matters, absolutely. Having a strong connection with your biggest fans will help maintain relevance in the future. It's a highly important trait. It's not as important as being connected to boosters who write seven-figure checks, but it's critical. Fans are your customers and you have to keep fans engaged and happy. Most fans will be happy with winning, but when wins are tough to come by, the AD's engagement will keep fans coming back.

  1. Legal Compliance and Oversight

Yes, it's critical, but it's not critical for the AD, necessarily. The AD has to ensure that things are run in a legal and compliant way, but the University will hire their own legal and compliance experts. Checks and balances, or something.

  1. Facility Management and Upgrades

10 years ago, this would have probably been in Tier 1. Today, facilities have been replaced by NIL. Players are no longer choosing Oregon over BYU because the facilities are cooler - they are choosing Oregon over BYU because Oregon is paying them more money. If BYU paid more money than Oregon, players would give up some facility upgrades in the name of getting a bigger paycheck.

This still matters, to be sure. BYU's AD needs to continue to push for updates to LaVell Edwards Stadium and the Marriott Center. Miller Field is getting a nice facelift that will need to over execute well. Weight rooms the SAB and the IPF still need maintenance and upgrades. These things still matter. Other things simply matter more.

Tier 3 - Valuable, But Not Make-Or-Break

  1. NCAA and Conference Relationships - It's more important that the next AD have the skills to develop relationships rather than bringing pre-existing relationships to the table with them.
  2. Academic and Graduation Success - Allegedly, the school still matters in college sports... at least that's what people say. The AD has to ensure that school is still happening even if it's not their expertise.
  3. Sports Science and Athlete Well-Being - The AD doesn't need to be an expert in this area, but it's becoming more important for programs. The AD needs to ensure that these programs are being run efficiently even if they aren't in the day-to-day weeds or don't bring many ideas to the table.
  4. Understanding of the Professional Model - College sports will never be professional sports, despite what message boards and social media want you to believe. But, they will continue to look a lot more like professional sports. If an AD comes with an understanding of how things work at that level, it will help set BYU up for future success and a quick adaptation process.

Tier 4 - Helpful But Not Essential

  1. Public Speaking and Charisma - BYU fans have been spoiled with Holmoe and it has made us feel like this is a critical trait for an AD. But, in reality, seven-figure checks from boosters and season ticket sales aren't driven by an AD press conference. An AD needs to be able to build strong relationships at an individual level, but mass appeal isn't a requirement. Sorry in advance to the Halloween costume designers at BYU.
  2. Actual Coaching Or Playing Experience - It just doesn't matter. If you have it, cool. You can use those skills to relate to players and coaches and it will certainly be a benefit. But it's not essential in the least bit.

All in all, BYU President Shane Reese has his hands full with this hire. It's critical that BYU gets it right and positions itself for future success.