Dave Rose

A tireless worker, gifted motivator and strong strategist, Dave Rose was named to succeed Steve Cleveland as BYU Men’s Basketball Head Coach on April 11, 2005.

Rose, who has served the past eight seasons as Cleveland's lead assistant, was promoted to BYU’s head job two days after Cleveland announced his resignation to take the head-coaching position at Fresno State. Rose served as associate head coach the past five seasons and takes over the BYU program with 22 years of coaching experience, including 10 seasons as a head coach at the junior college and high school levels.

Since coming to Provo in 1997 along with Steve Cleveland, Rose has played a vital role in rebuilding BYU’s program from an inherited 1-25 team into a regular NCAA Tournament participant and 20-game winner. BYU has qualified for postseason play five of the past six seasons, including three NCAA bids, while claiming two MWC titles. As associate head coach, Rose fulfilled a variety of responsibilities under coach Cleveland and his efforts earned notice, such as being named the top assistant in the Mountain West Conference by Street & Smith in the 2004-05 College Basketball Preview,

Rose was the team’s defensive coordinator and worked with the post players. He possesses a complete knowledge of the game and worked hard in developing the team's defensive game plans. An outstanding teacher, he coached defensive skill development and implemented the defensive game plan. With Rose overseeing the defense, BYU has been the top defensive team in the Mountain West Conference two of the past four seasons.

A strong evaluator of talent with a vast network of coaching connections across the country, Rose has managed BYU’s recruiting efforts the past eight seaons. Rose’s success as a recruiter is evidenced by his being named one of the top 25 college basketball recruiters in 2004 by Rivals.com. Each year the Cougars have brought in talented newcomers to contribute to and take advantage of the BYU program. The 2004 class was rated No. 17 nationally and No. 3 in the West by Rivals.com. The 2000 recruiting class also ranked in the top-20 nationally.

Proving that Rose has excelled in recruiting and developing players, eight recruits have earned conference newcomer honors or a major conference award in their first season as a Cougar in the eight years Rose has been in Provo. Including Rafael Araujo being named the league's top newcomer by the MWC media members in 2003 (the MWC discontinued the newcomer award that year), five BYU players have been singled out as either the conference newcomer or freshman of the year. Most recently, Mike Hall was named the 2004 MWC Defensive Player of the Year. Below is the list of player honors earned the last eight seaons by Cougar recruits in their first seasons in Provo.

• Mike Hall (2003-04 MWC Defensive Player of the Year, third-team All-MWC)
• Rafael Araujo (2002-2003 Newcomer of the Year by MWC media poll, third-team All-MWC)
• Jared Jensen (2001-2002 MWC Co-Freshman of the Year)
• Trent Whiting (2000-2001 MWC Newcomer Team, second-team All-MWC)
• Terrell Lyday (1999-2000 MWC Newcomer of the Year, All-Tournament Team)
• Mark Bigelow (1998-99 WAC Freshman/Year, Newcomer Team, second-team All-WAC)
• Mekeli Wesley (1997-98 WAC Newcomer Team)
• Ron Selleaze (1997-98 WAC Newcomer of the Year, Newcomer Team, second-team All-WAC)

Rose has also worked closely with scheduling. BYU has played many of the nation's top teams over the past several years, thanks in part to relationships Rose has developed with programs across the country. His efforts have helped the Cougars receive invitations to tournaments like the 2004 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, where BYU faced eventual NCAA Champion North Carolina.

Prior to coming to BYU, Rose was head coach at Dixie College in St. George, Utah. Rose compiled a 167-57 record in seven seasons as head coach at Dixie. Rose guided six of his seven teams to national top-20 rankings, including a ranking as high as No. 2, while earning three conference titles. His peers honored him as the 1993 Scenic West Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. While at Dixie, Rose coached three NJCAA All-Americans as well as longtime NBA player Keon Clark. At BYU he recruited and coached two future NBA Draft picks in Rafael Araujo and Travis Hansen.

Before being promoted to the head coaching position at Dixie, Rose served as a Rebel assistant coach under Ken Wagner for three seasons. Rose coached multiple sports at Millard and Pine View high schools in Utah before joining the staff at Dixie. He was the head basketball coach at Millard for three years from 1983-86.

Rose becomes the 17th person to guide the Cougar basketball program since its first season in 1903. He follows the coaching pedigree of Basketball Hall of Fame coach Stan Watts, who is BYU's all-time leader in coaching victories with a 372-254 record from 1949-1972 and also coached at Millard High School and Dixie State College before coming to BYU.

PLAYING CAREER:
Rose was a two-sport athlete at Dixie College before transferring to Houston, where he was a shooting guard and co-captain of the famous "Phi Slamma Jamma" team featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. In 1983 his Houston team was ranked No. 1 nationally and finished second in the NCAA tournament. At Houston, Rose played in 1980-81, redshirted in 1981-82, and played his final year in 1982-83.

At Dixie, Rose was first team all-league in both basketball and baseball. Rose was also the Region 18 batting champion hitting .421 as a center fielder. While playing basketball for Houston's Northbrook High School, he led the District 16AAAA in scoring, was selected first team all district and All-Greater Houston, and was named team MVP.

PERSONAL:
A native of Houston, Texas, Rose, 47, is married to the former Cheryl Lang and they have three children and one granddaughter. Daughter Chanell played forward on the BYU women’s basketball team from 2000-2003 and is married to Brock Reichner, who is a guard on the BYU team. Rose’s wife Cheryl is actively involved in helping families who have children with cancer as vice chairperson of the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation. Rose follows Cleveland as the second returned missionary to serve as BYU men's basketball head coach. Rose served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Manchester, England, from 1977-79 between his two years as a player at Dixie College. His son Garrett returns in August 2005 from his two-year mission in Little Rock, Ark.

COMMUNITY SERVICE
Dave Rose was one of the first coaches in Utah to become involved with Coaches vs. Cancer while at Dixie State College. He helps the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation and has been a volunteer coach for youth groups. He served on the Academic Excellence Committee at Dixie. Dave and his wife Cheryl were Chamber of Commerce Citizens of the Year in St. George. Cheryl is extremely committed to serving in the community. She received the Beacon of Hope Award in 2005. After Dave got her involved, she now serves as the Vice Chairperson for the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation. She served on the Utah State Substance Abuse Committee of Higher Education and was on the Washington County Substance Abuse Prevention Team. She spoke across the region about substance abuse while fulfilling an appointment by the U.S. Department of Education as the Regional Coordinator for the Network of Colleges and Universities Committee to the Elimination of Drug and Alcohol Abuse on Campus, serving Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Cheryl has also served on the Women’s Conference Board, including a stint as Charwomen in 1995. Other involvements have included the Washington County Fair Queen Pageant Committee and being the longtime chairwomen for the Miss Santa Clara Pageant.

COMMENTING ON ROSE
"Dave Rose is one of the best coaches I have ever known. He is not only the best at preparing you to succeed against your opponent by preparing game plans but also the greatest motivator I have ever been around. He has a special way to communicate with the players and instill confidence that enables you to play at the highest level every game. When my career at BYU came to an end, he continued to help me choose an agent, go to NBA camps and NBA workouts and begin my professional career. He never stopped supporting me and believing in me. I will always be grateful for what he has done for me and continues to do for me now."
-- Travis Hansen, Former BYU Cougar and Atlanta Hawk, currently playing professionally in Spain

"I have never been around a coach who had a feel for what makes each player tick like Coach Rose. He knew what to say and when to say it, and when he talked everyone listened because of the respect he had earned from past experiences the team had been through with him. He is a coach that you not only want to play for but also would sacrifice almost anything for. He has been one of the most influential people in my basketball career, and I will forever benefit from his lessons on basketball and life. His attitudes about basketball and about life attracted me to him from the beginning. I've never seen any other coach like him."
-- Mark Bigelow, Former BYU Cougar, currently playing professionally in Spain

"Coach Rose is one of the main reasons why I came to BYU. He saw me play in junior college and because of his great vision and recruiting skills, I came to BYU. I enjoy working with Coach Rose. He taught me a lot. He’s a great coach."
-- Rafael Araujo, Former BYU Cougar and current Toronto Raptor