Remember When... The Cougars Won Three-Straight MWC Titles?

When Dave Rose was named BYU’s head coach in 2005, he inherited a team that won just nine games the previous season and was picked to finish ninth in the Mountain West Conference. He responded by leading the Cougars to 20 wins and a second-place MWC finish in 2005-06.

Rose was just getting started as he followed his impressive rookie campaign with three-straight regular season MWC titles in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

2006-07

The 2006-07 team went 25-9 overall and 13-3 in MWC play to give BYU its first outright championship since 1988 and first national top-25 ranking since 1993. The season also included the Cougars’ first season sweep over rival Utah since 1994 and its first NCAA Tournament invitation since 2004, including its highest seed since 1995. Along the way, BYU defeated three nationally ranked teams and earned a national ranking (No. 24) in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll, something a Cougar team hadn't done since 1988.

Rose was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in as many seasons, becoming the first-ever BYU men's basketball coach to win back-to-back league coach-of-the-year honors. Senior forward Keena Young was named the MWC Player of the Year and became the first Cougar since 2004 to receive AP All-America honorable mention. He also earned all-district recognition from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Sophomores Trent Plaisted and Lee Cummard were All-MWC selections to the second and third teams, respectively, while senior point guard Austin Ainge received All-MWC honorable mention. Freshman forward Jonathan Tavernari followed Plaisted's lead of one year ago by receiving MWC Freshman of the Year accolades during his first season as a Cougar.

2007-08

In 2007-08, the Rose-guided Cougars went 27-8, including 14-2 in MWC play, to win the second-most games in school history while becoming the first outright back-to-back Mountain West Conference Champions in league history. The team also achieved BYU’s first consecutive appearances in the Top 25 polls since the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons and earned the program’s first victory over a top-6 ranked team since 1965 with its triumph over Rick Pitino’s sixth-rated Louisville Cardinals.

While teamwork was the BYU buzzword, several individual accomplishments contributed to the Cougars’ success. Junior guard Lee Cummard was named the MWC Co-Player of the Year. An all-around athlete, Cummard also received AP All-America honorable mention after leading the team with 15.8 points per game on 56.9 percent shooting from the field while adding 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest. The dynamic duo of Cummard and junior forward/center Trent Plaisted garnered selections to the NABC All-District 13 First Team, the USBWA All-District VIII Team and the All-MWC First Team. The pair also became the 37th and 38th members of BYU’s 1,000 Point Club. Plaisted racked up his scoring numbers by averaging 15.6 ppg on .542 shooting from the field to go along with a team-leading 7.7 rpg. Sophomore guard Jonathan Tavernari also made his presence felt in the Cougar program as he earned third-team All-MWC honors and set the BYU record for three-pointers made in a season with 88, also an MWC sophomore record, while attempting a school-record 234 treys.

2008-09

The Cougars finished 2008-09 at 25-8 overall and 12-4 in the MWC, winning 25 games for the third-straight year—a first in the history of BYU basketball and the 32nd 20-win season in the team’s history. Rose also led the Cougars into the top 25 for the third-straight season, the first time since 1979-82 that BYU had been ranked for three-straight seasons. The Cougars’ third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance marked the 24th overall in program history and sixth in nine seasons.

In four years as a head coach, Rose made waves nationally as well as in the MWC. Of the 47 coaches who took over a men’s NCAA Division I program in 2005, Rose had the best winning percentage (.740) and was second for most wins (97), trailing only Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl by one game. Also, of the 17 first-time Division I coaches who started in 2005, Rose led with 97 wins, 12 ahead of Kent State’s Geno Ford in second.

The big three—senior Lee Cummard, sophomore Jimmer Fredette and junior Jonathan Tavernari—earned All-MWC honors with Cummard and Fredette making the first team and Tavernari earning third-team honors. Jackson Emery joined the big three with a nod on the MWC All-Defense squad. Cummard and Fredette were named to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District team while Cummard also earned all-district honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

2006-07 Season Review

2007-08 Season Review

2008-09 Season Review

Remember When... Series

Every weekday from Oct. 15 to Nov. 11, BYUCougars.com will remember some of the great moments, players and events in BYU basketball history. A new installment to the series will be posted every weekday until the 2010-11 men’s basketball season opener against Fresno State on Nov. 12.