For Donovan Rose, affection toward his alma mater and a fresh start overcame the sour taste of a disappointing ending.

Rose, whose firing last fall ended a 23-year coaching run in Hampton Universitys football program, agreed to return to the school as an athletic fundraiser.

Rose will fill the newly created position of Assistant Athletic Director for Development. He will report to new Pirates athletic director Eugene Marshall Jr., who has said he wants to make raising money and community outreach priorities.

When people are asked to give, they want to give to people theyre familiar with, Rose said. Theyre going to give to people they know and to a good cause. Hampton University is a good cause.

Though Rose is known primarily as a football coach, he is plenty familiar with raising money. When he returned to Hampton in the early 1990s following a professional football career, he not only was an assistant coach, he was director of the schools Job Education and Training (JET) program for 17 years.

The JET program provided opportunity for at-risk youths in Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth. He sought individual and business sponsorships and assistance. He believes the experiences he had and the relationships he formed will dovetail into his new position.

He said that he had opportunities to coach elsewhere, but he and his family have deep roots in the area. He is a Norfolk native and he and his wife, Sylvia, are Hampton alumni. She is a professor of finance in HUs business school. Their son, Donovan, is scheduled to begin his freshman year at HU in the fall. Their daughter, Deja, attended Georgetown and is now at Tulanes medical school.

I thought about it, he said, but in the end, I didnt want to be anywhere else.

Rose said he has met with new football coach Connell Maynor. He didnt sound the least bit resentful about working with those who relieved him.

Ive got nothing but love for Hampton, he said. Its my school. I want them to do well. Id like to think I left the program in good position, in terms of grades and APR (Academic Progress Rating) numbers and some young talent. Now, Im in a position to help the program and the athletic department in other areas.

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Former HU coach Rose takes athletic fundraising job at school