By Todd R. Michaelis, ’90
Tom Holmoe
As a star quarterback and safety in high school, Thomas A. Holmoe, ’83, MS ’95 (Lori Wright, ’82), was heavily recruited by Division I football teams. But during his last senior game he shattered his right hand.
“Many schools dropped me,” says Holmoe, now BYU’s associate athletic director for development, “but BYU remained interested in me as a defensive back.”
As a BYU sophomore, Holmoe led the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in interceptions, and he earned first-team All-WAC honors as a senior. He was recruited by the San Francisco 49ers, where he earned three Super Bowl rings in his seven-year career.
Upon retiring from the 49ers, Holmoe began coaching, first as a graduate assistant under LaVell Edwards and later as a defensive coach for Stanford, the 49ers, and University of California, Berkeley, where he eventually became head coach.
When his career began to wind down at Cal, he again turned his attentions to BYU blue. “I’ll fold towels in the laundry room,” quipped Holmoe, who returned to BYU in 2002. ”
BYU is where a lot of the foundation for my life was laid—my spiritual roots are here.”
