After 16 years, Randy Rahe to retire as Weber State men's basketball coach


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OGDEN — After 16 seasons, Weber State will mark the end of an era next year.

Head coach Randy Rahe has retired as head coach of the men's basketball program following the close of the 2021-22 campaign, as first reported by Stadium's Jeff Goodman. Assistant coach Eric Duft will succeed Rahe as head coach, the school announced in confirming Rahe's retirement.

"Randy Rahe's impact and legacy at Weber State and our men's basketball program cannot be overstated," Weber State athletic director Tim Crompton said. "He has been an outstanding coach and has also impacted the lives of hundreds of young men in a positive manner away from the game of basketball. His passion, dedication, loyalty, and genuineness have made him a pillar in the community. His record speaks for itself and we thank him for his time here and wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life."

Rahe ends his decorated tenure as the all-time winningest coach in Wildcats men's basketball history with five Big Sky regular-season titles, three conference tournament championships and three NCAA Tournament berths. The four-time Big Sky Coach of the Year will step aside with a career record of 316-191, including a 198-85 mark in Big Sky play and 21-12 record in his final season.

Rahe, 61, arrived at Weber State for his first collegiate head coaching job in 2006 after serving as an assistant at Utah for three years. He previously spent six seasons on the bench at Utah State, moving to the Beehive State in 1998 following brief careers at Colorado State, Denver, Colorado and Colorado College, as well as the only other head coaching job he's known from 1985-88 at Stratton Senior High School. He most recently signed a contract extension through the 2024 season.

The Bancroft, Iowa, native played point guard at Division III Buena Vista before beginning his coaching career, which has also taken him twice to the NIT, once to the College Basketball Invitational and three times to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

The Wildcats finished in the top three of the Big Sky standings in 13 of Rahe's 16 seasons leading the program and won at least 10 conference games in 14 of his 16 seasons. But the highlight of his tenure came from 2012, when Rahe took little-recruited Damian Lillard out of Oakland, California, and turned him into a three-time Big Sky honoree, two-time Big Sky Player of the Year, and the No. 6 overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft.

Lillard's number was retired at Weber State in 2017, shortly after finishing his degree with the university.

"Coach Rahe is somebody who's like a father figure to me," Lillard told KSL.com at the time. "To this day, if I'm in a tough spot or if I'm going through something, I'm not very comfortable letting my guard down and saying what I need to say to people, and he's one of the people I can say that to."

Randy Rahe coaches the Weber State basketball team during a game against BYU. Rahe, 61, retired Monday after 16 seasons leading the Wildcats.
Randy Rahe coaches the Weber State basketball team during a game against BYU. Rahe, 61, retired Monday after 16 seasons leading the Wildcats. (Photo: Carter Williams, KSL.com)

Duft, 49, has been with Rahe every step of the way, as one of the first hires Rahe made during his first season in 2006. Prior to coming to Ogden, Duft spent 10 years as a junior college coach in Kansas, including seven as an assistant with top-ranked Hutchinson.

He and his wife Sherri are the parents of four children.

"We are excited for coach Duft to begin his tenure as the head coach at Weber State," Crompton added. "His high character and passion for the game bode well for building the next phase of success and championships at Weber State."

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