Utah and BYU men’s basketball head coaches Jim Boylen and Dave Rose joined forces to raise money for cancer research Monday morning and put their rivalry on hold8212;at least for 18 holes.
The coaches took to the links at the Salt Lake Country Club for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation’s annual “Hope on the Range” Chairman’s Tournament, competing on the same team for the shotgun-golf event.
Although the tournament is now in its eighth year, it took on special meaning this year for both Rose and Boylen given Rose’s announcement last June that he has pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor cancer.
“I’m really appreciative to coach Boylen for inviting me to come play,” Rose said. “It’s a great cause. The Hunstman Institute here helps so many people with their battle with cancer and especially for me now it’s a personal thing.”
Boylen was naturally excited to see the support for the event8212;which ultimately raised $1 million, according to Lori Kun, the director of development for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation8212;and was particularly pleased to have been able to team up with his in-state rival.
“First of all, I just couldn’t be happier that Dave Rose is healthy and that I got a chance to spend a couple hours with him; we had a great time,” Boylen said. “I’m really glad that I can support Jon Huntsman and his passion to cure cancer and be a part of this event. It’s a big deal to me.”
During their four hours on the course, the coaches had a chance to talk about all things basketball and beyond.
“We talked about everything,” Boylen said. “We talked about the schedule, about travel, about the future and the fact that’s he’s cancer-free, which was fun to talk about.”
However, even as teammates, the coaches couldn’t help but touch on the intense rivalry that has developed between them.
“There’s a respect there,” Boylen said. “People don’t realize that we’re caught up in the rivalry too; we’re kind of at the apex of it. We also understand what the other one’s going through. We want the rivalry to be great, we want the teams to be good and I think we’re building that.”
Although the tournament brought out other notable players such as Utah Jazz President Randy Rigby, General Manager Kevin O’Connor, assistant coach Tyrone Corbin and shooting guard Kyle Korver, the sight of the two rival coaches playing together stole the show.
“It was so fun to have (the coaches) here, everyone’s been having such a great time with it,” Kun said. “To see them together is a great sight to see, it’s been fun for everyone.”
In the end, the coaches’ team put up a score of five under par8212;not enough to take the tournament but among the better scores of the day.
“We did OK, we had our moments,” Boylen said. “We couldn’t get a putt to fall, but that happens. Obviously today was about raising money for cancer research and spending time together.”