The search for Niko Medved’s replacement atop the CSU men’s basketball program took all of 48 hours to reach its conclusion.
All the Rams had to do was look one seat over.
Former assistant Ali Farokhmanesh was named the 21st head coach in Rams men’s basketball history by the university late Wednesday afternoon. He replaces Medved after he left to coach his alma mater, Minnesota, earlier this week.
Farokhmanesh, 36, agreed to a five-year contract through June 2030 worth $4.5 million in base pay, according to terms provided by the university.
“I am thrilled that Ali will continue leading our men’s basketball program, now as head coach,” CSU athletic director John Weber was quoted in a news release announcing the hire.
“Ali has a relentless attitude that he attacks each day with, which was important to us as we looked for the next leader of our men’s basketball program. There has been significant interest in the head coach position at Colorado State. After an extremely comprehensive and competitive national search, Ali’s continued leadership of this program is important and really excites me.”
Farokhmanesh spent the last eight years serving as an assistant under Medved, first at Drake from 2017-18 and then with CSU starting in 2018. Over that time, the Rams rose from the depths of the end of the Larry Eustachy era to reach the NCAA Tournament three times in the last four seasons. That culminated with a Mountain West Tournament championship earlier this month — the program’s first in 22 years — and a first-round upset of Memphis in the NCAA tourney.
Medved announced on Monday that he was leaving Fort Collins for his hometown school — a day after CSU fell a Maryland buzzer-beater short of the Sweet 16.
But, Farokhmanesh will not be following him this time.
“I want to thank President Amy Parsons, John Weber, Scott Sidwell, and Christina Diaz for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be the head coach at Colorado State,” Farokhmanesh was quoted in the release. “Serving under Coach Medved has been a privilege, and I will forever be grateful to him for bringing me to Fort Collins. This university and state are special because of the great people. I am grateful for all who have been so welcoming and supportive of me and my family during our time here and look forward to continuing to grow those bonds in our community. I can’t wait to continue to build off the championship foundation our players have established and push it to greater heights.”
The former Northern Iowa star is best known for sinking No. 1 seed Kansas in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament with an audacious 3-pointer. The shot followed a game-winning 3 that eliminated UNLV just two days earlier.
More recently, he has made a name for himself as a skilled developer of talent, credited with helping push David Roddy, Isaiah Stevens and Nique Clifford to new heights.
Roddy parlayed that into a first-round selection in the 2023 NBA draft. Stevens currently plays the Miami Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, after a record-breaking Rams career. And Clifford is expected to be chosen in this June’s NBA draft after an All-Mountain West Conference campaign that saw him average 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game on 49.6% shooting.
Farokhmanesh’s hire offers CSU stability after an unprecedented run of success that’s included three 25-plus-win seasons in four years, two NCAA Tournament wins and a 143-85 record since Medved arrived on the Front Range seven years ago.
With the transfer portal opening up earlier this week, Farokhmanesh’s first goal will be to retain some of the talent that helped make that happen.
“We have something special happening on the court in Moby Arena, and Ali has been an integral part of building the CSU men’s basketball program into the nationally prominent force that it is today,” Parsons was quoted in the release. “That momentum and energy will only continue to grow as he steps into the head coach role. I know Ali is committed to CSU, our student-athletes, our fans and the entire Ram Community in the pursuit of excellence on and off the court.”
The longtime CSU assistant, who served as the Rams’ associate head coach is slated to earn $800,000 in base pay in ’25-26; $850,000 in ’26-27; $900,000 in ’27-28; $950,000 in ’28-29; and $1 million in ’29-30.
The contract includes several incentives, including payments for finishing with 20-plus Division I wins ($25,000), finishing 50th or better in the NCAA NET rankings ($50,000), winning regular season or conference tournament championships ($75,000), qualifying for the NCAA Tournament ($75,000), and a team cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in an academic year ($25,000).
In addition, he would receive bonuses for NCAA Tournament wins in the Round of 64 or prior ($50,000), advancing to the Round of 32 ($75,000), advancing to the Sweet 16 ($100,000), advancing to the Elite 8 ($100,000), advancing to the Final Four ($150,000) and winning a national title ($100,000).
If Farokhmanesh remains as CSU’s coach through May 1, 2028, he’ll receive a retention bonus of $100,000.
CSU will provide Farokhmanesh a pool of $1.2 million for assistant coaches and support staff.
Should the new Rams coach seek to terminate the contract early, as with Medved, he would owe 33% of the remaining money left to pay on the contract. If CSU were to seek to terminate the deal early without “just cause,” the school would pay 75% of the remaining money owed.
An introductory news conference open to the public will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Moby Arena.
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