BYU men's basketball coach Dave Rose probably could have earned more money by leaving but he signed a new five-year contract with the Cougars so he could continue to ''build a legacy here.''
His new deal will take him through the 2015-16 season.
The announcement was made Wednesday on the heels of the winningest season in BYU basketball history, and unsuccessful attempts by other top programs to lure away the 53-year-old Rose.
The Cougars finished 32-5 and advanced to the NCAA tournament's round of 16 for the first time in 30 years. Since being hired in 2005, Rose is 159-45 and has led the Cougars to at least 20 wins and a postseason berth each year.
Financial terms were not released, but school administrators acknowledged that Rose is still underpaid for all that he offers.
Asked if he was worried that he might lose Rose to another school, athletic director Tom Holmoe said, ''Let's just say I'm very happy this day has come, and that we've been able to come together.''
Holmoe declined to reveal which schools had contacted BYU about Rose.
''I was flattered in the process,'' Rose said. ''There was surprisingly a great deal of interest. I felt that it was something that this time I needed to look into. But when I looked into it, we felt as a family that we wanted to continue to build a legacy here. That's what it came down to.''
Rose also said he welcomed the challenges that come with joining the West Coast Conference and moving forward without senior leaders Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery.
''We have a great core of players returning,'' Rose said. ''I look forward to the challenge of bringing that group together as a team and seeing how successful we can be.''
Yet to be determined is whether he'll be able to keep his top assistants, including Dave Rice, who is being considered for the top job at his alma mater, UNLV.
And while Rose has expressed optimism that forward Brandon Davies will play for him again, he said he is still awaiting word from the dean of students and the school's honor code review board. Davies, the team's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, was suspended the same day BYU climbed to No. 3 in the polls. He was not allowed to represent BYU on the court after violating the school's honor code by engaging in premarital sex, but he cheered his teammates on from the end of the bench.
BYU leaves the Mountain West Conference next season and jumps to the West Coast Conference in basketball. BYU expects to have more of its games aired on ESPN as a result of its affiliation with the WCC. Rose declined to discuss what non-conference games have been lined up thus far and won't do so until the entire schedule is complete.
While he hasn't sensed any moratorium by Mountain West schools when it comes to scheduling BYU, he admitted it's still challenging finding non-conference opponents willing to play BYU.
Despite the challenges, Rose said the vision for the program remains clear.
''We want to continue putting a great product on the floor, be competitive, win championships and qualify for the NCAA tournament,'' he said. ''I'm excited for this day. I know this is my future. I'm really excited for our players. They made a commitment to their coach and I have that opportunity to make that commitment back to them.''
