From the school's standpoint, Boylen is what it wants — a good coach and a fine salesman. That combination has become increasingly important as schools struggle to meet budgets and retain fans. Attendance was off at Utah this year. But that seemed to reflect a nationwide slide in interest.

Boylen made smart moves by scheduling teams like Gonzaga, Oregon, LSU and California to play at the Huntsman Center, and meeting Oklahoma and Mississippi on the road.

Beyond that, he finished tied for first in the Mountain West Conference on a year when the Utes were picked to finish near the middle.

Their No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament — the highest in MWC history — drew considerable national attention, which in turn made Boylen a hot commodity.

Yes, handing Boylen a new deal is bold, maybe even risky.

After all, his predecessor, Ray Giacoletti, looked golden after his first year. That season, he made the Sweet 16 and won 29 games. But once Andrew Bogut left, his record over the next two seasons fell to 25-32.

Boylen will now have to make his way minus the conference player of the year, Luke Nevill.

Still, coaching these days isn't a gradual business. It's about what you've done lately. Boylen did well enough that bigger programs came calling. The Utes only did what all success-oriented programs should do.

They gave him five million reasons to stay.

E-MAIL: rock@desnews.com