BYU is more than ready to end its time as an Independent to join a Power 5 conference. The program believes they are ready to play at a much higher level, but will not budge on their traditional policy of not playing Sunday games according to team athletic director Tom Holmoe on Thursday.
The schools holds fast to its Mormon religion, which forbids Sunday contests. This could cause for a lot of rescheduling for BYU games if they are to join a Power 5 conference.
“I really would love to see our football play at that level, be playing in a P5 conference,” Holmoe said, via ESPN.com. “I want our players … in all of our sports to be able to play at the highest level. I don’t know [if the policy is a deal-breaker]. That’s up to the P5 conferences. But I do know that it’s something that we hold very sacred. We have never played on a Sunday and we’re not going to play on a Sunday.”
Holmoe went on to say that the Sunday policy was not an issue when the Cougars had previously played in other conferences.
If the Big 12 is to go beyond its current 10-team membership, BYU is expected to easily get a spot. Holmoe has said in the past that he will not publicly lobby for a spot, though.
The athletic director is proud of what his program has accomplished — and they don’t need Power 5 conference membership to validate themselves.
“It’s in our best interest not to be pushing the envelope,” Holmoe stated. “They’re well aware of what we’ve done. The stats and the records speak for themselves. We’re a very, very good football program for over 40 years. We have an excellent athletic tradition outside of football, and educationally this is one of the best schools ever.”
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