PROVO — For the first time in 14 years, BYU’s athletic administration is searching for a new head basketball coach after Dave Rose's anticipated announcement Tuesday that he is stepping down.
Athletic director Tom Holmoe has a relatively small pool of candidates to choose from because that coach must be an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Here’s a look at some of the candidates that figure to be on Holmoe’s list of candidates.
Mark Pope, Utah Valley University head coach
Pope, 46, spent four seasons — 2011-15 — as Rose’s top assistant at BYU. The Cougars went to the NCAA Tournament three of those years and advanced to the NIT semifinals in the other.
In 2015, Pope was hired as head coach at Utah Valley University. In four seasons at UVU, he has posted a 77-56 record (.579), including three straight CBI appearances.
Last June, UVU signed Pope to a six-year contract extension that runs through the 2023-24 season, replacing a five-year deal that was set to expire in 2020.
In 2016, Pope guided the Wolverines to a stunning 114-101 victory over BYU at the Marriott Center.
Pope’s wife, Lee Anne, a BYU graduate, is the daughter of the late Lynn Archibald, who was Utah’s head coach in the 1980s and an assistant at BYU in the 1990s.
In college, Pope played at Washington and Kentucky. He helped lead Kentucky to the national championship in 1996 before embarking on a nine-year professional career. Pope was coached by Rick Pitino, Larry Bird and George Karl.
Alex Jensen, Utah Jazz assistant coach
Jensen, 42, has been an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz since 2013. Prior to that, he was the coach of the Canton Charge of the NBA G-League and he was also an assistant at Saint Louis University.
Jensen played for two seasons at Utah under coach Rick Majerus before serving a mission to England. He returned and helped the Utes reach the NCAA championship game in 1998. In 2000, Jensen was named the Mountain West Conference player of the year.
After graduation, he played overseas in Spain, Japan and Turkey.
Barret Peery, Portland State head coach
A native of Payson, Peery, 47, has been the head coach at Portland State the past two seasons, compiling a 36-30 record. Prior to that, he coached Southern Idaho to an 85-19 (.817) record from 2005-2008 and Indian Hills to a 96-10 (.906) record from 2011-2014. Peery was an assistant coach at Arizona State in 2014-15 and was the associate head coach at Santa Clara in 2016-17.
Last December, BYU saw Peery up-close-and-personal when he brought his Portland State team to the Marriott Center. The Cougars won, 85-66.
In college, Peery played at Snow Junior College and Southern Utah.
Mark Madsen, Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach
The former Stanford star is currently an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. Madsen, 43, was a first-round draft pick who played for nine seasons in the NBA with the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves. He began his coaching career with stints as an assistant with the Utah Flash and Stanford before joining the Lakers in 2013.
As a player, Madsen finished in the career top 10 in blocks and rebounds at Stanford. He helped guide the Cardinal to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a spot in the 1998 Final Four. He was a two-time All-American. Before his college career, Madsen served a mission to Spain. He has an MBA degree with a Certificate in Public Management.
Jeff Judkins, BYU women’s basketball head coach
After spending a decade as Majerus’ assistant at Utah, Judkins arrived at BYU in 1999 as an assistant coach for the women’s team. In 2001, Judkins became the head coach and he has posted a record of 393-183 in 18 seasons.
This season, Judkins, 63, led the Cougars to a West Coast Conference Tournament championship — including a third win over Gonzaga — and a berth into the NCAA Tournament.