PROVO, Utah (AP) — Brian Santiago takes over as BYU athletic director with a mandate to keep the school nationally relevant in football and basketball.
The Cougars posted an 11-2 record and an Alamo Bowl win in football and reached the Sweet 16 of the men’s basketball tournament for the first time since 2011. Now the pressure in on his shoulders to keep building momentum.
“Nobody’s going to be picking us last, picking us at the bottom of the Big 12,” Santiago said at his introductory news conference on Wednesday. “We’ve got to be ready for what’s coming and the intensity is going to pick up and people are going to be gunning for us now. We’re not going to catch anybody off guard.”
The school promoted Santiago to replace longtime athletic director Tom Holmoe on Tuesday, elevating him from deputy athletic director. More than 50 candidates were interviewed for the position before BYU decided to promote from within the athletic department.
Santiago served as BYU’s deputy athletic director since 2017 after spending the previous nine years as a senior associate athletic director. He started at BYU as an assistant basketball coach under Steve Cleveland in 1997 before moving into athletic administration.
That familiarity with the Cougars played a key role in him succeeding Holmoe.
“Brian was a special candidate,” BYU President Shane Reese said. “To my knowledge, no one else in the candidate pool had 27 years of direct experience with BYU athletics — with 20 of those years spent working under the direct tutelage of Tom Holmoe on the most complex and challenging issues facing college athletics.”
He oversaw 11 sports as deputy athletic director and believes his experience working closely with Holmoe prepared him for a new set of challenges.
“He empowered me and he gave me a voice,” Santiago said. “I’ve already been in the trenches.”
Santiago graduated from Provo High School and played basketball at Utah Valley and Fresno State.
During his two-season stint with Fresno State from 1992-94, he posted career averages of 9.9 points, 6.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds. He led the Western Athletic Conference in assists (7.0) and three-point shooting percentage (.500) as a senior.
Santiago has earned a reputation as a “basketball guy” during his time at BYU. He made it clear, however, that making the football program competitive from one season to the next will be his top priority.
“Football drives the ship,” Santiago said, while describing Kalani Sitake as an exceptional coach. “There’s nothing more important at BYU than our football program.”
One other immediate priority is keeping BYU basketball coach Kevin Young in Provo after a successful first season. Young has surfaced as a potential candidate for NBA head coaching jobs, notably the Phoenix Suns, given his experience as an assistant coach in the league.
Despite the rumors, Santiago expressed confidence that Young will be back to guide BYU again in the upcoming season.
“Kevin Young is locked in,” Santiago said. “I just think that everybody knows there’s been a lot out there with him being such a successful NBA coach and the Phoenix Suns making a change with their head coaching job. And it is obvious they’re going to be interested in talking to Kevin Young. What I’m hoping is Kevin Young sees everything that’s happening here.”
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