Lee Rose began his coaching career starting at the high school level and then moving on to assistant coaching jobs at the college level before landing the head coaching and athletic director position at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.
In 1975, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte hired Rose as head coach and athletic director, and UNCC was soon rewarded for the move. Rose compiled a 72-18 (.800) record in three seasons at the school, and he was named the Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 1977 after leading UNC Charlotte to the NIT finals in 1976 and the NCAA Final Four in 1977.
Rose left UNCC in 1978 for Purdue University, where he took his first team to the NIT finals and the next year’s squad to the 1980 Final Four, compiling a 50-18 record as the Boilermakers’ coach. He then accepted the position of head coach at the University of South Florida, a school with a basketball program only 10 years old at the time.
As a college head coach, Rose compiled a .705 winning percentage (388-162). Equally impressive, he was named Coach of the Year in every conference in which he coached: Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Sun Belt, and Big Ten. He was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
After his collegiate career, Rose went on to serve as an assistant coach for five NBA teams: San Antonio Spurs, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets, and Charlotte Bobcats. In addition, Lee was the vice president of player personnel for the Milwaukee Bucks. Rose has also served as an NBA consultant and coaching supervisor for NBA Developmental League coaches. The NBA also recruited him to coordinate and conduct the on-court instruction and drills at the NBA pre-draft camp for over 15 years.
One of Rose’s proudest accomplishments is the work that he and his wife, Eleanor, do to reverse low educational attainment in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District in conjunction with Forward in the Fifth (a nonprofit organization and an affiliate of the Center for Rural Development). Since 2005, Rose has been to 42 counties in this Appalachian region. He has spoken to more than 11,000 middle school students, encouraging them to stay in school and to use their education as a stepping stone for future success.
Lee is still actively involved with Forward in the Fifth in Kentucky and works with the Men's Homeless Shelter of Charlotte. He and his wife live in Charlotte, North Carolina.
