Utah lawmakers invited the BYU football team to Utah’s Capitol on Wednesday in celebration of its 2024 season and to honor athletic director Tom Holmoe ahead of his retirement.

Members of the team, the coaching staff, Cosmo the Cougar, Holmoe and BYU President C. Shane Reese began their visit in the Senate with their Alamo Bowl trophy in hand.

There, Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper, introduced an official citation recognizing the football team “for demonstrating athletic excellence, sportsmanship and community leadership, both on and off the field.”

It was signed by Cullimore, Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan.

Another citation was then read recognizing Holmoe “for his impressive career” in which he lifted “BYU athletics to new heights during his tenure, leaving an undeniable mark and legacy under his leadership.”

BYU reached four national championships and 133 conference regular-season and postseason championships and had 350 student-athletes earn All-America status under Holmoe’s tenure, according to BYU.

After the Senate session, the team was recognized in the House of Representatives. Before both citations were read again, Rep. John Hawkins, who was sporting a BYU tie, highlighted the team as “the de facto people’s champion of the Big 12″ and praised its “stampede” of the Colorado Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl.

“Thank you for representing our state well. Thank you for all that you do good in our culture, in our communities,” Hawkins said.

BYU’s visit culminated with a ceremony honoring Holmoe, where quarterback Jake Retzlaff, head coach Kalani Sitake, Reese, Holmoe and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox spoke before Cox declared Wednesday “Tom Holmoe Day” in Utah.

What Jake Retzlaff said about Tom Holmoe

Retzlaff praised Holmoe for being “another guy I could talk to or lean on whenever I needed advice.”

“It’s super cool for a guy like me who came in here as a transfer to a junior college to connect with an AD the way I have,” Retzlaff said. “This guy right here is special. He made my journey here even better. He’s just allowed me to grow up in so many ways and show me the way.”

What Kalani Sitake said

Sitake spoke of the friendship and mentorship Holmoe has provided over the years and neither of which will stop upon Holmoe’s retirement.

“I failed, though, in convincing him to do one more year. I kept saying that to him more and more, ‘Let’s just retire together.’ If you guys haven’t guessed, he played way before me,” Sitake said.

Sitake also spoke of his team and the origin of its culture that was praised on Capitol Hill.

“I think a lot of people, they highlighted the culture of our team in praising us today, but the culture — that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ, but more importantly, how LaVell Edwards was able to introduce that to us as players,” he said.

What President C. Shane Reese said about Tom Holmoe

Reese recognized Holmoe for his “decades of distinguished leadership and service to BYU and the broader community.”

“At BYU, we often talk about Christlike leadership, and Tom has lived it. He never went halfway or gave half effort. If you need evidence, just look at his legendary Halloween costumes. He gave his all as a student athlete, as a coach and as BYU athletic director for more than 20 years.”

He added that Holmoe helped lift BYU “as a university and as an athletic program, climb new hills and mountains at BYU.”

What Gov. Cox said about BYU football and Tom Holmoe

Cox began his remarks by joking that he was grateful that BYU allowed him, a Utah State Aggie, to “stand up here and say some great things about a Cougar.”

He shared that he grew up a BYU fan and was one of the fans you’d see at BYU games with a white “Y” on his blue-painted chest.

The governor thanked the BYU players, including those who didn’t grow up in Utah, for representing the state.

“Every time you put on that ‘Y’ on your chest and you go and play that game on TV or in another state, people are judging our state by your behavior, and that’s true of all of our universities. … You weren’t assigned to be representatives of the state of Utah, but you’re every bit the representative that I am as the governor of Utah,” he said.

He then turned his attention to Holmoe, who he claims has overseen BYU athletics during “the most difficult and tumultuous years in college athletics history.”

“As a student of history and a sports junkie, I feel confident that no other athletic director or athletic directors in the history of our country have had to go through what he’s been through in the last 10 years,” Cox said.

The governor listed the COVID-19 pandemic, NIL, the transfer portal, conference independence, conference realignment and joining the Big 12.

“No one has ever had to navigate all of that, and then to come out on the other side of doing it better than just about anyone in the country, maybe anyone in the country,” he said.

Through all of that, Holmoe exhibited great character, Cox said.

“There are a lot of successful people out there that are willing to cut corners. They’re willing to undercut other people, that are willing to use their position of authority to tear other people down. He’s not one who never did that. He was the exact opposite. In fact, he used his position to deflect to others, used his position to lift everyone else around him and not take any of the credit,” he said.

What Tom Holmoe said on ‘Tom Holmoe Day’

BYU’s visit concluded with remarks from Holmoe. The athletic director of 20 years shared his gratitude for the kind sentiments shared about him and the team during the visit.

He then reflected on his journey to BYU. Holmoe was a “California boy” through and through when he first came to BYU, but the state of Utah is now his home, he said Wednesday.

“When I came here in 1978, I flew in. We drove from Salt Lake airport down to Provo and I thought, ‘What in the world has happened? What am I doing on this recruiting trip?’ and now all these years later, I’m a citizen of the state of Utah. This is my home and I love this state, and it’s especially true because of the great people,” he said.

Holmoe didn’t list any of the titles BYU won during his tenure when reflecting on the last 20 years. Instead, he focused on what he called the highlight of his time as athletic director: the people of the state of Utah and the people at BYU.

“The greatest feeling that I have in these years is just looking back to student athletes and the coaches and the administrators that I got a chance to rub shoulders with, and because you all did so great for 20 years in the roles that you had, my role kind of got accentuated, and then I just kind of carried that role.”

He added his own wisdom to ensure those highlights don’t change.

“No matter what age you are, what year or class you are in school, remember that that the more that you can do as an individual to bless the lives of other people, the better you will be, and the better those people around you will be,” he said.