BYU AD Tom Holmoe Discusses BYU’s Independence Future with CFP Expansion

College Football Playoff Expansion from four to 12 teams is imminent, and the CFP committee announcing that the top 6 conference champions will receive automatic bids have had many ask if that will cause BYU to consider joining a conference.

BYU would jump at the opportunity to join a P5 conference immediately, but a conference such as the AAC or MWC would be more feasible if BYU does make the decision to jump.

Dave McCann asked BYU Athletic Tom Holmoe during Media Day Tuesday morning about BYU’s standing in the college football world with the CFP playoff expanding. Holmoe didn’t shoot down the possibility of BYU joining a conference, saying the CFP expansion “will help us whether we’re independent or in a conference.” Holmoe went on to say that “it would be our responsibility to see what the environment looks like.”

On the decision to actually join a conference, Holmoe said, “If a decision is made (to join a conference), then we will have gone up all the up through our president and all the way up to Salt Lake (Church Headquarters).”

Holmoe’s responses didn’t seem like a mere deflection of questions, but rather that BYU will seriously consider joining a conference after the playoff expands to 12 teams, which could be as soon as 2023.

Independence has been a great opportunity for BYU to showcase its program on some big stages, but the administration is clearly considering joining a conference if that is the best decision for BYU long term.

Holmoe had another interview on BYU SportsNation where he discussed BYU’s conference future and other topics. You can watch that interview below.