BYU basketball: Dave Rose not interested in Houston job

PROVO — Dave Rose, head basketball coach of the BYU Cougars, has told the University of Houston that he's not interested in its recently available head basketball coaching position.

Houston officials contacted Rose after Tom Penders stepped down on Monday to see if the BYU coach was interested in coaching at his alma mater. Rose played for Houston for two seasons and was a member of the national championship runner-up team in 1983.

But Rose, who just finished his fifth year as BYU's head man, said on Tuesday through BYU's sports information department that he's not going to pursue the job. It's unclear whether Houston officials were gauging Rose's interest or made him an offer. Rose was unavailable for further comment on Tuesday.

In November, Rose agreed to a new deal with BYU to coach the Cougars through the 2013-14 season. Terms of the deal were not released, but it is believed that Rose received a substantial pay raise.

In Rose's five years as BYU's head coach, the Cougars are 127-40, have had five straight 20-win seasons, won three Mountain West Conference regular-season titles, played in one NIT and four straight NCAA Tournaments. Rose's winning percentage of 76.1 percent is the best in BYU history.

This past season, under Rose, the Cougars went 30-6, were ranked for 11 straight weeks and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over Florida, before being ousted last weekend in the second round by Kansas State.

Last offseason, Rose had a cancerous tumor removed from his spleen and pancreas, and his health and coaching status were uncertain at the beginning of the season. However, doctors believe they removed all of the cancerous cells, and a scan he had early in the season came back clean. He's scheduled to have another scan this month.

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