PROVO, Utah — New BYU head men's basketball coach Dave Rose spent the press conference announcing his hiring by expounding on his court philosophy Monday, April 11, at the Cougar Room in LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Photo by Mark Philbrick

Dave Rose, center, sits with his wife, Cheryl, among BYU basketball players during press conference where he was named head coach for the Cougars.

Photo by Jason Olson/Deseret Morning News

Dave Rose speaks enthusiastically during press conference where it was announced that he will be the new head coach of the BYU men's basketball team. He takes over after eight seasons as associate head coach on staff of former coach Steve Cleveland.

In a Church News interview after the press conference, his wife, Cheryl, spoke glowingly of the new coach as a loving husband and father, and faithful member of the Church.

BYU's 17th head coach since 1903, Rose is taking over for departed friend Steve Cleveland, who informed the school the previous Friday that he would be taking the reins at Fresno State University after eight years of leading the Cougars. Rose was on Cleveland's staff from the beginning as associate head coach. Rose's promotion was announced at the press conference by BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. Among those attending were BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson of the Seventy, who spoke briefly, and Elder W. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy and Church Commissioner of Higher Education.

Taking the podium for the first time in his new position, Rose stated three things he expected will take the team to a higher level of achievement: commitment "in everything that we do;" discipline — "we'll be disciplined in our approach to the game, we'll be disciplined in the way we play the game, we'll be disciplined in the way we approach academic assignments;" and passion for the game.

In his opening remarks, he talked about recruiting excellent college basketball players over the years. But, getting a little emotional, he said, "My wife is my No. 1 recruit."

"He didn't have to recruit me too hard," Sister Rose later responded.

They met at Dixie College when he returned from his mission to Manchester, England; they were married in the St. George Utah Temple. After completing his basketball career at Dixie, he spirited his new wife away from her hometown to his, Houston, Texas, where he played for the University of Houston Cougars. He was co-captain his senior season of their team nicknamed "Phi Slamma Jamma" — including Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler — that made it to the 1983 national championship game.

Sister Rose said that one day her husband came home from school and told her he wanted to be a basketball coach. She said she was shocked and answered, "Wait a minute! You're a business major. You're going to be a business guy and make lots of money. And you want to be a coach? I don't think they make very much money."

But she went along, and has been a great support, her husband said.

Their path took him to assistant and head coaching positions at the high school and junior college levels. He was the head coach at Dixie College for seven seasons before Cleveland hired him away.

An active member of the Church, Rose teaches the gospel doctrine class in the Provo 13th Ward, Provo Utah East Stake. Among his other callings, he has been a stake high councilor, bishop's counselor, elders quorum president and Young Men president.

Sister Rose, who has also served in many Church callings, said even with the demands of coaching and Church callings, her husband has never neglected his family.

"I'll get emotional here," she said, "but he's a great family man. He's a great husband. He's my best friend. He is an amazing father. No matter how busy he is, he never puts us aside. He's passionate about everything he does."

They have two daughters, Chanell and Taylor, and a son, Garrett, who is serving in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission, and a granddaughter.

The hiring of Rose came quickly after Cleveland decided to leave. Holmoe said, "Some coaching searches last a long time and some go very fast; some have formal searches and some have informal searches; and in this case we felt that we had the right guy here, right under our nose, and we knew it, and so we tried to go as fast as we could."

President Samuelson commented, "We know Dave Rose very well. He, in a way, has been auditioning for a long time, without much thought about what that would mean. But for those who have some responsibilities to watch him, we are grateful to have Dave Rose here."

Rose called his hiring "backwards." He said he always expected to be a head coach at the top level of college basketball. But he thought it would follow a successful season when he would be hired away by another school. Instead, he landed the job at his current school following a less-than-successful, 9-21, 2004-05 campaign when the coach ahead of him left. Though backwards, he said he was happy with the outcome.

"I never thought this was going to happen for me," he said. "I thought that it was going to happen for me somewhere else. But I'm excited about this opportunity and there are things about this school that are unbelievably good, unbelievably positive. You have to take those and build on that and not worry about the rest of the things that other people may say (that) are not to your advantage."

With a coaching philosophy that will focus on pressuring the opposing defense in transition and by attacking the basket in the halfcourt, Rose believes the Cougars can set their goals on success at the highest level of college basketball.

"I promise you I will not be the one to tell (the BYU players) that we can't do it," he said.

E-mail to: ghill@desnews.com