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By Scott Taylor, Church News
Tom Holmoe and Liz Darger can cite plenty of instances of when Brigham Young University student-athletes, coaches and administrators have exemplified the standards, conduct and Honor Code of the school and its sponsoring faith.
“Anyone at BYU, when we perform, has responsibility to represent ourselves, our team, our individual family,” said Holmoe, the BYU director of athletics. “But we’re going to represent BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — and people notice that.”
That puts a unique spin on “Reppin’ the Y” — Cougar Nation’s catch phrase for fans to “represent” BYU in everything from attendance to apparel.
A Sunday for Women’s Soccer
Darger — BYU’s senior associate athletic director and senior woman administrator, as well as a member of the Church’s Young Women general advisory council — points to Sunday, December 5: the date for the 2021 NCAA Division I women’s soccer championship match in Santa Clara, California.
But that match was delayed a day when BYU — with its policy of no athletic play on the Sabbath — advanced from the College Cup semifinals and earned a berth in the finals.
Rather than practicing, the Cougar team followed a unique itinerary that Sunday, attending a fast and testimony meeting, with several BYU players participating by sharing their testimonies. Players and coaches lingered afterward, interacting with local Latter-day Saints.
“It was neat to see the interactions afterward from members there who were expressing gratitude — not only that they would come and be a part of their congregation that day, but that they would share their light in their testimonies and set an example for youth around the world of the importance of making and keeping covenants,” Darger said.
That evening, the team gathered to watch the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional, decorate Christmas cookies and sing Christmas hymns — on the eve of facing Florida State University in the championship match (which the Cougars lost in a penalty-kick shootout).
“There’s really a wonderful freedom we have here at Brigham Young University to be able to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Darger, adding, “I’m really grateful to be able to work at a place where I can openly share my testimony and openly hear the testimony of my colleagues and these student-athletes, because I learn so much from them and their strength.”
Successes in 2021
In a recent Church News podcast, Holmoe and Darger spoke about the successes and roles of BYU’s athletic programs and athletes, the university’s unique Honor Code and BYU’s upcoming move to the Big 12 Conference.
The January 20 episode was guest-hosted by Sheri L. Dew, executive vice president and chief content officer of Deseret Management Corporation and a former member of the Relief Society general presidency.
In 2021, BYU claimed second-place national finishes in women’s soccer and women's cross country and a Sweet 16 appearance in women’s volleyball; national rankings in football and men’s and women’s basketball; individual national recognition in cross-country and track and field; and a conference championship in men’s volleyball.
Holmoe said he’s amazed to see how BYU athletes can be strong and competitive on the field and yet meek off the field. “How can you be meek and strong?” Holmoe asked. “We learn about that in the gospel. When you are meek, you are strong, and the Savior is such a great example, and our kids know that. I think it’s just so much a part of who they are.”
Darger underscores the department’s mission station of wanting to build a “distinctive, exceptional” athletics program — “knowing that we are a little bit different here, but seeing that as a strength and seeing that strength that comes from being in a place where we can combine our spiritual progression with our athletic progression and academic and social progression, and seeing things through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how we treat others.”
BYU’s Honor Code
One distinctive element is BYU’s Honor Code, which calls for honesty, chastity and virtue, obedience to the law, clean language, respect for others and adherence to the Word of Wisdom, as well as following the school’s dress and grooming standards.
When Holmoe hears others say the Honor Code must make recruiting difficult, he responds by saying students come because of the Honor Code. “They love the Honor Code. Here at BYU, because of the Honor Code, it’s safe.”
“Safe” not as in safety, he added, but safe as advance knowledge of the school’s culture. “At BYU, what you see is what you get. And we have to be very honest when we’re recruiting student-athletes that are not members of our faith, because we have to be able to tell them how it is,” he said, adding, “They have to know that’s the standard that everybody’s going to be living up to. It’s unifying.”
He points to former BYU football standout Jamaal Williams, a Black athlete from Southern California, known on campus for his inviting smile and personal warmth. “And it just grew — he was loving, he cared, he sacrificed, he worked extraordinarily hard,” said Holmoe, acknowledging that Williams and others not of the Latter-day Saint faith sometimes endure and overcome difficulties.
”When he left BYU, we gained so much more from having Jamaal be part of our family than he did being part of us. And he was so grateful, and still to this day now playing with the [NFL Detroit] Lions — he’ll come back, and he just wants to be here at BYU and share and hug and feel that love that we have for him and he has for us.”
Darger added that the Honor Code can help student-athletes limit distractions in their lives. “By living those principles of the Honor Code, it helps student-athletes to be able to focus — focus on getting excellent education, on being the best they can be at their sport, and to focus on building healthy relationships and, hopefully, growing spiritually as well.”
BYU’s acceptance in late 2021 to the Big 12 Conference in athletics benefited from initial groundwork BYU did six years previous in an earlier bid, helping the Big 12 learn and understand BYU’s uniqueness as a faith-based private university and how the Cougars have fit in with conferences over the decades — the Skyline, Western Athletic, Mountain West and the West Coast conferences.
Questions about social issues and the Church, he added, have been clarified and answered. “We’ve worked very earnestly to address issues in society and questions that people have about the Church. But I think the Church has done a really good job of teaching and proclaiming, and through the public relations, being able to help people learn more about the Church.”
NCAA Common Ground
Common Ground is an NCAA initiative that Darger has participated in for several years. Participants — including athletic administrators mostly from faith-based institutions, but also some public and private secular schools, and LGBTQ advocates — seek to find common ground on creating safer athletic environments for student-athletes of all sexual orientations, gender identities and religions.
“Much of it has been about simply seeking to understand the perspectives of others,” Darger said, “and then helping people understand our beliefs and who we are. …
“We don’t agree on everything, but there has been an open understanding of wanting to find ways that we can seek that common ground and really create an athletic department where all of our student-athletes feel that they can thrive.”
As Holmoe looks to help navigate BYU through an upcoming path of a new conference; transfer portals; name, image and likeness licensing; ongoing pandemic protocols; and an uncertain future for the NCAA, “We just have to keep our footing, we have to keep our scruples and we have to keep our faith. … We have to unify and unite and be able to bring in different kinds of ideas and be able to learn and do things differently.”
He added: “We have our sponsoring institution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to help guide us and to shine a light on where that path goes.”
Counseling Together
Darger said BYU’s successes stem from council settings, as administrators counsel together as well as with coaches and student-athletes, helping the latter to be successful athletically, academically, socially and spiritually. And she welcomes a work setting where she can easily share a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“It adds so much richness to every day at work, to be able to discuss the weighty matters and discuss the gospel of Jesus Christ and what we’re doing, hopefully, to help move the work forward in missionary work and other ways to represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a way that would be pleasing to our Savior.”
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