PROVO – The man who once led Brigham Young University athletics is putting his memories on paper.
Former athletic director Val Hale is releasing a new book about the “golden era” of sports at BYU – and what went on behind the scenes.
The book’s title is “Out of the Blue: An Insider’s Look at the Rise of BYU Sports,” and Hale was actually in the thick of it when the Provo-based university became a national name in football and other sports.
“It was a great time,” Hale told KSL-TV.
Hale began as a sports information intern in 1980 and worked his way up the career ladder, eventually becoming BYU’s athletic director in 1999.
In his new book, which he says will be available this holiday season, Hale shares some inside stories from his time at the university, which is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“In the book, I talk about what it’s like to be not just an athletic director, but to be BYU’s athletic director,” Hale said. “There’s a difference.”
Hale has been part of some big moments and worked with big names like longtime football coach LaVell Edwards.
“How many people can say I was LaVell Edwards’ boss?” Hale joked.
“That’s how I saw it”
But the book also deals with some painful moments, such as in 2004, when Hale was abruptly fired from his position as athletic director.
“I tell this story,” he said, “and I tell it in quite some detail.”
The university said at the time that it wanted to take a different direction. Hale said his book was not an “exposé” but wanted to cover the ordeal accurately and fairly.
“I think people will get a true picture of what happened,” he said, “and they will experience what I experienced, and that was quite traumatic.”
Hale has seen and experienced a lot, and he believes BYU fans will enjoy learning about some of the biggest stories in sports from his perspective.
“I think the stories will maybe open their eyes a little bit and show them what was going on behind the scenes,” Hale said. “That’s how I saw it.”
