How much would you like being told by your boss:

“Hey, you need to hire this guy in your department because he’s friends with Mr. X.”

One there is a natural reaction to being cut out of a hiring decision in your department. But then you are told this:

“The reason he is being hired is to help in Mr. X’s Department. But you need to watch over and care for him and make sure he does everything right in your department.”

Your response may be: “We’ve already hired all the people we need. Our process for hiring started several months ago.” Or it might be “Is he qualified to work in my department or is he only qualified to work in Mr. X’s department?”

So here is a thought. Have a department where these transfers can get a masters in Sports Education, or sports health, or sports management, or sports broadcasting, or something related to sports such that Tom could help any number of athletes transfer into the program for a masters degree and it would be a more legitimate endeavor.

I’m not in favor of academics kow-towing to sports at BYU.