Rejecting overtures from other interested schools, Dave Rose has signed a new five-year deal to remain the head coach of the BYU Basketball Cougars.

To talk about the contract, Rose met the media in an afternoon press conference at Legends Grille on the BYU campus.

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BYU has called a press conference for 1:00 this afternoon to announce a "new contract for BYU Basketball head coach Dave Rose."

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KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM and ksl.com will carry the press conference live; Rose and BYU AD Tom Holmoe will be in attendance. Rose will also address "the future of BYU Basketball."

The BYU Cougars conducted their second-to-last practice of the spring season Tuesday, with only Thursday's prep session preceding the Blue/White Spring Game on Saturday.

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On an afternoon that started warm and sunny but ended cool, cloudy and windy, the defense appeared to carry the day, with five interceptions recorded in either 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 periods (a sixth apparent interception was waved off).

Jimmer Fredette's award-filled weekend in Houston was capped off Sunday night, as Fredette was named the winner of the 2011 Naismith Award, given to college basketball's Player of the Year. Fredette becomes BYU's first-ever Naismith Award recipient.

As part of the AT&T NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Guardians of the Game Awards Show, Fredette was also named as the NABC National Player of the Year. Danny Ainge is BYU's only other NABC NPOY, receiving the honor in 1981, when it was called the Eastman Award.

Fredette's national player of the year citations now include:

Before we get to some additional impressions from Friday's BYU Football practice at LES, here's the latest on developments surrounding the BYU Basketball coaching staff.

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With UNLV losing head coach Lon Kruger to Oklahoma, attention has turned to BYU Associate Head Coach Dave Rice, now seen as a leading candidate to replace Kruger.

Perfect weather greeted a crowd of 800 BYU Football alumni and their guests on Friday afternoon as the Cougars entered LaVell Edwards Stadium for first time during spring practice.

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The Cougars held an 18-period session featuring full-team situational and scrimmage work during the annual "Alumni Day," after which head coach Bronco Mendenhall addressed the media and said "we just wanted to have some fun and play football; nothing more specific than that, and I think we did that. I was impressed...the kids wanted to play, they wanted to tackle, they wanted to run, they wanted to catch; it was good."

Jimmer Fredette's postseason honors keep piling up. BYU's spectacular senior was earlier Friday named as the Associated Press Player of the Year, and has now been named as the recipient of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award--given to the top senior student-athlete in D1 hoops.

The official press release is as follows:

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As the BYU Football team practices at LaVell Edwards Stadium during the program's annual Alumni Day, Jimmer Fredette joins the BYU Basketball coaching staff in Houston for a weekend of award presentations (Fredette) and assorted Final Four festivities and meetings (coaches).

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It seemed like an appropriate time to put a statistical capper on some of the BYU hoopsters' accomplishments, as we get ready for the final week of spring football, leading up to the final practice/scrimmage one week from tomorrow.

Jimmer Fredette's postseason star is shining as brightly as ever, with BYU's alltime scoring leader and winningest player continuing to haul home the college hoops hardware.

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Fredette today received two more national honors, as he was named to the ten-man John R. Wooden Award All-American Team, and named as recipient of the Adolph Rupp Award, given by the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky to college basketball's National Player of the Year.

After spending much of the last two weeks in the Indoor Practice Facility, the BYU Cougars took spring football practice back outside on Tuesday.

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KSL Radio Sports Producer Jake Hatch attended the session, and provides the following report. Included in the "Cougar Cuts" box are post-practice interviews with head coach Bronco Mendenhall, WR Cody Hoffman (pictured above), DL Eathyn Manumaleuna and LB Jameson Frazier.

In the BYU Cougars' just-completed 32-win season, some victories stood out more than others. As a final farewell to the 2010-11 basketball campaign, here is my list of the Cougars' Top Ten wins.

Not everyone may agree with the compilation, but I hope to have hit the high notes in a remarkable season that put BYU and star Jimmer Fredette front and center on college hoops' national stage.

(Note: this was originally written as a "Behind the Mic" column for the Deseret News)

The BYU Cougars started their third of four weeks of spring practice with another late afternoon session at the Indoor Practice Facility on Monday.

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QB Jake Heaps (pictured above during an outdoor session earlier in camp) threw a pair of touchdown passes to WR Cody Hoffman during game-ending/2:00/1:00 scenarios at the end of the "Team" session.

BYU's Jimmer Fredette can add another award to his already-crowded trophy case.

The Cougars' alltime leading scorer and winningest player was today announced as the recipient of the Oscar Robertson Trophy, awarded annually by the United States Basketball Writers Association to the National Player of the Year.

Also today, Fredette was named to the Associated Press All-America First Team, becoming the first BYU player to be so honored since Danny Ainge in 1981.

With Thursday night's season-ending loss only minutes in the rear-view mirror, and with the sting of defeat still fresh, the time was probably not right.

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The time was probably not right for BYU head coach Dave Rose to talk too much about the future--neither his, nor that of his team.

There was the game, and there was the season. To reflect on the former is slightly painful; to reflect on the latter is extremely gratifying.

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Thursday night in New Orleans, the BYU went down guns-a-blazing, but ran out of bullets in the Sweet 16, falling to Florida 84-73 in overtime.

Head coaches and players from the BYU and Florida basketball teams hit the practice floor and met the media Wednesday in New Orleans, a day before the Cougars and Gators are to meet in the Sweet 16's Southeast Regional Semifinals.

You can hear all of the audio from the media sessions by clicking on the respective "play" buttons in the "Cougar Cuts" box below.

Reporting from New Orleans, where the BYU Cougars are continuing preparation for Thursday's NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional Semifinal against the Florida Gators.

After arriving in town early Tuesday afternoon, the Cougars conducted an early evening practice at an area facility, with a team meeting on tap to close the day.

Wednesday, the team will spend the better part of the early afternoon at the New Orleans Arena for an open practice (12:00-12:50pm CT) and press obligations (1:00-2:00pm).

Saying practices have been "very competitive," Bronco Mednenhall led his team into its second week of spring workouts on Monday.

Asked if he likes the competition at one spot over another right now, Mendenhall said "Not necessarily. I like what's happening at tight end, I like what's happening at receiver, I like what's happening at running back, I like what's happening in the secondary, at linebacker."

"It's almost more 'what position don't I like' where the competition is," said Mendenhall.

BYU head coach Dave Rose wants his team to play with "no fear" in its Sweet 16 matchup with Florida Thursday in New Orleans.

Rose and players Jimmer Fredette, Jackson Emery and Noah Hartsock met the local and national media in a Monday afternoon Marriott Center press conference; you can hear the individual media sessions by clicking on the respective "play" buttons in the "Cougar Cuts" box to the right.

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30 years after a singular talent led the BYU Cougars to their only Sweet 16, another once-in-a-generation player is taking his team to one of college basketball's dream destinations.