Editor’s note: this story was originally reported by Brett Hein of the Ogden Standard-Examiner.
The Big Sky Conference’s all-time leader in league victories will be staying in Ogden well into the next decade.
Randy Rahe, Weber State’s 10th-year head men’s basketball coach, signed a lucrative contract extension through the 2023-24 season, first reported by the Standard-Examiner in Ogden, Utah. Rahe, the four-time Big Sky Coach of the Year, is 129-43 against conference competition over the last 10 seasons. His win total surpassed longtime Montana State head coach Mick Durham for the most against Big Sky opponents since the league was founded in 1963.
“I’ve always said it’s an honor and privilege to be the basketball coach here, and I still feel that way every bit as strongly,” Rahe told SE sportswriter Brett Hein. “Weber State has an incredible tradition and history.”
Rahe was rumored to be among the top candidates for the opening at Boise State. Instead, he will lead Weber State for the foreseeable future. The contract reportedly includes a base salary of $342,594, up from the base salary of $312,594 in his previous contract. His previous contract included more than $112,000.
Rahe is the 50th-highest paid head coach among the 68 head coaches of NCAA Tournament team. By comparison, University of Utah head coach Larry Krystowiak had a base salary of $2.575 million last season according to a report from USA Today. Rahe makes more than San Jose State head coach Dave Wojcik ($331,008) and Air Force (undisclosed) among the 12 men’s basketball programs.
The 55-year-old Rahe has claimed five regular-season league titles and three BSC Tournament championships. Weber posted a 26-9 record last season, winning the regular-season title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. Rahe is 208-113 during his 10 years at WSU, his first head coaching job after serving an assistant at Rocky Mountain schools like Colorado (1989-90), Denver (1990-91), Colorado State (1991-1998), Utah State (1998-2004) and Utah (2004-2006).
Weber’s season ended March 18 with a 71-53 loss to Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats defeated Montana to win the Big Sky title in Reno, Nevada earlier that month. Five days after the Xavier loss, Rahe signed the contract extension according to the report from the Standard-Examiner.
“Stew Morrill gave me this advice a long time ago: Never take a job for money. You take a job for the fit for you and your family — is it a place where you feel like you can be successful?” Rahe told Hein and the Standard-Examiner.
“I have a pretty damn good job if we do what we’re supposed to. We want to be in a position to challenge for a conference championship every year, and jobs like that are hard to come by.”