Sounds like revisionist history from Hale. I HIGHLY doubt that decision came down from above because he made this statement during the post-game interview:
“I told them from now on we’re going to leave our flags at home and they should do the same,” said former BYU athletic director Val Hale. “All it does is initiate the fans to throw things out of the stands.” Hale gave us that line after a BYU fan was pummeled by a Utah cheerleader after he jumped out of the stands and tried to mix it up after a Utah touchdown.
So, unless that direction came down during the 4th quarter of the game, the flag ban was all on Hale. It was such a stupid thing to say at the time–I’ sure he’s embarrassed by it.