STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

9 Months Ended

Dec. 26, 2015

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Total stock-based compensation expense of $6.2 million and $10.2 million was recognized for the nine months ended December 26, 2015 and December 27, 2014, respectively. There was no related income tax benefit recognized for the nine months ended December 26, 2015 and the related income tax benefit recognized for the nine months ended December 27, 2014 was $3.3 million.

The weighted average fair value for our options granted was $7.41 and $7.89 per share for the nine months ended December 26, 2015 and December 27, 2014, respectively. The assumptions utilized for estimating the fair value of option grants during the periods presented are as follows:



	Nine Months Ended
	December 26, 2015		December 27, 2014
Stock Options Black-Scholes assumptions (weighted average):
Volatility	22.82	%	22.45	%
Expected life (years)	4.9		4.9
Risk-free interest rate	1.40	%	1.75	%
Dividend yield	—	%	—	%

As of December 26, 2015, there was $18.2 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested equity based compensation, including stock options, restricted stock units, market stock units and performance share units. This cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.9 years.

During the nine months ended December 26, 2015 and December 27, 2014, there were 145,334 and 183,808 shares, respectively, purchased under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan at an average price of $29.87 and $25.92 per share, respectively.