USU’s Rahe hired by U’s Ray
After 13 seasons under Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill, Aggie assistant basketball coach Randy Rahe will head to Utah next season to work under new Ute Head Coach Ray Giacoletti.
“It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Rahe said. “Every good thing that’s happened to me in this business is because of coach Morrill, so it was very difficult to walk into that office and tell him. But he’s such a quality guy and he understood.”
Rahe said parting ways with Morrill and the university will be bittersweet, but neither party harbored feelings of resent.
“I wish Randy and his family nothing but good things,” Morrill said, “except when the Aggies and the Utes tip it up.”
A close personal relationship with Giacoletti and the perennial success of Utah were both factors Rahe said he found enticing in the position.
“Giacoletti is a good friend of mine,” Rahe said. “I’ve gotten to know and respect him. And Utah is obviously a Top 20 team in the nation year in and year out. I had one of the best jobs in the nation working for coach Morrill, but when coach Giacoletti called me I was excited about the opportunity.”
Next year’s matchup between the two in-state rivals is a game Rahe said he is not looking forward to.
“It’ll be weird for me,” Rahe said. “Being on the other end of the student section, I think the rants and raves will be a little different. But the game’s not about me. It’s about Utah State and Utah. The hardest part will be looking down the bench at coach Morrill and coach Verlin, my good friends, and trying to beat them. It won’t be easy in the Spectrum.”
Rahe began working with Morrill at Colorado State in 1991 after two years of being an assistant coach at Colorado College.
Since following Morrill to Utah State six years ago, Rahe, 43, helped the Aggies to 143-46 record, as well as five post-season berths and three Big West Championships.
“He has done a tremendous job in our program both at Colorado State and Utah State,” Morrill said. “He is a very good basketball coach and an even better person. His contributions will be missed, as will his day-to-day presence.”
Rahe will be joined by Mike Score, who followed Giacoletti from Eastern Washington, and former UC Santa Barbara assistant Marty Wilson.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have these three guys becoming a part of our program,” Giacoletti said in a press release. “All three of these guys come from winning programs and they’ve won everywhere they’ve been.
“Mike won a national junior college championship, Randy and Marty were a part of Big West Conference championship teams, and all three of them have been with teams that have received postseason bids, both to the NCAA Tournament and the NIT.”
A native of Iowa, Rahe began his coaching career at Stratton and Bethune High Schools in Colorado after graduating from Buena Vista College. At Stratton, Rahe’s teams posted a 54-17 record and won the state consolation championship in 1988. He and his wife Laura have two sons.
“After 13 years together it is difficult to put into words the strong emotions felt as Randy embarks on a new challenge,” Morrill said. “It is very much like having a family member move away.”
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Stew Morrill (left) and Randy Rahe will be separated next year as Rahe was hired by new Utah basketball coach Ray Giacolletti. (Photo by John Zsiray)