BYU Football: 5 Reasons to calm your troubled soul

The last 10 days have been a whirl wind for the local Utah news media. While there is reason to be concerned, there is also hope. There are reasons that you can comfort your troubled soul. We will spend discussing the pro’s and con’s and hopefully you can draw comfort that BYU‘s Athletic Director Tom Holmoe is at […]

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The last 10 days have been a whirl wind for the local Utah news media. While there is reason to be concerned, there is also hope. There are reasons that you can comfort your troubled soul. We will spend discussing the pro’s and con’s and hopefully you can draw comfort that BYU‘s Athletic Director Tom Holmoe is at the helm of this ship.

The Letter

The issue with LGBT exclusion is not new, going to the media and at the combined effort to damage BYU is new.  While the letter was bad timing for BYU’s bid for the Big12, it could have been worse. You need to know there is a way that BYU and the LDS Church can handle this correctly. By doing so, it will bring confidence to the Big12 and, of course, silence the critics at the same time.

Tom Holmoe and the University needs to not freak out. What I mean is, there isn’t a need to rush out on every television station and to advocate the case of BYU. In fact, the best and positive public relations aspect is to let the media help do Tom’s job. Let me explain.

Most journalists can spot the hypocrisy of what this is. It is at best an attempt to improve the awareness of LGBT students at religious institutions. Struggling to balance their faith, growing up and identifying who they are as individuals. This is already a difficult task for every day young adults, I can’t imagine the struggle kids have who are LGBT and trying to fit into a very conservative institutions like Baylor, BYU or any of the hundreds of the Christian Universities in the United States.

Each of these Universities have some type of honor code or honor pledge, this isn’t new.  So why the letter and why now? No, BYU fans it isn’t an attack on the LDS Church or your faith, and no one is trying to just keep you away from the promised land known as the Big12 Conference. It is however, about what all organizations struggle with and that is relevance and funding.

How do you stay relevant and keep funding flowing in at the same time? You must be in the public eye at the right time and with the right people. It boils down to seizing on timing.

Copyright and Courtesy of BYU
The Honor Code & The LDS Lifestyle

One of the biggest issues for BYU is educating the Big12 Presidents on how the Honor Code works and the LDS lifestyle. This can be a daunting job for Tom.  It does help with positive messages from various columnists and media outlets that are seeing what the letter by Athlete Ally is.  BYU is doing this job correctly. BYU has made efforts to support LGBT students to feel loved, safe and to reduce suicide rates.

Interviews and columns from local and national journalists also help to promote that the Honor Code isn’t new or unique. Here are a few interesting reads:

Brad Rock : Deseret News
Genevieve Wood : Daily Signal
Jared Lloyd : Daily Herald

BYU actually has an USGA association on campus and a student affiliated with this group actually won an award [The Trevor Project] in their effort to help reduce suicide rates. These facts confound the message that Athlete Ally profess to be true. You can view their message to fellow BYU students here:

The art of the deal

Once the Big12 announced Conference expansion was imminent, Tom Holmoe started working the street. BYU continues to be apart of every discussion with regards to expansion. What you don’t see is this discussion being held in the public arena. What you do hear is that Tom Holmoe is conducting ‘masterful’ discussions with the 10 member Presidents that make up the Big12.

Texas has made it clear Houston is a favorable candidate, Texas also want’s BYU. Tom Holmoe has been continuing to talk with Texas and Houston regarding a likely path to expansion for the Big12. What Tom gets, is these Universities are aligning themselves in voting blocks. Tom is educating, Tom is advising and Tom continues to provide masterful leadership and most of all he is keeping the confidences of these University Presidents.

The knowledge that BYU and Tom Holmoe have not released a Press Release about anything being done goes a long way to show how “easy” BYU will be to work with when they are in the fold.

Photo: San Antonio Express-News
Texas and Oklahoma

The Big12 knows that BYU is the only lock as it relates to brand. BYU is the only logical choice for all of the Big12 Presidents.

Texas and Oklahoma know that their easiest path to the College Football playoffs is together, in the Big12. The path to the CFP is clearly more difficult in a Super Conference or by joining the SEC, BIG10 or PAC12.  In order to stay together the BIG12 must survive and clearly the only way to do this is adding quality athletic programs like BYU.

TV Compensation

This is the last and most important item that has to be worked out. This is a very fluid process. ESPN and Fox Sports are both supporters of BYU inclusion, the dollars just have to be correct.

 

The post BYU Football: 5 Reasons to calm your troubled soul appeared first on TornBySports.