Minnesota hired Niko Medved from Colorado State on Monday, giving him a six-year contract. Medved, a Twin Cities-area native and former student manager for the Gophers, had Colorado State just one basket away from the Sweet 16.
Medved was the top choice from the beginning to replace Ben Johnson, who was fired on March 13 after a 56-71 record and 22-57 in the Big Ten over four seasons. Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle has been working to improve a struggling program that has made the NCAA Tournament only twice in the last 12 years.
“This really is a dream job for me,” Medved said in a statement from the university. “I loved my time at Colorado State, and I worked with amazing people who made a lasting impact on my life. Those are memories I’ll always cherish. This job was too special to pass up, and when the chance came, I had to take it.”
Colorado State finished the season with a 26-10 record. They beat No. 5 seed Memphis 78-70 in the first round and lost 72-71 in the second round to No. 4 seed Maryland on a buzzer-beating bank shot.
This was the third time in seven years under Medved that the Rams reached 25 wins and made the NCAA Tournament out of the Mountain West, one of the toughest mid-major conferences in the country.
“I’ve had as much fun and joy coaching this group as any group I’ve ever been a part of, and they just keep giving us more,” Medved said after the loss to Maryland in Seattle on Sunday. “It’s just gut-wrenching. It’s a season you never want to end. It’s been an incredible ride, and it goes by so fast.”
The 51-year-old Medved has been a head coach for 12 seasons, including four years at Furman and a one-year stint at Drake. He’s from Roseville, a suburb near the Minnesota campus, where he earned degrees in kinesiology and sport management.
Medved was once a team manager for the Gophers under coach Clem Haskins, who led them to their only Final Four appearance in 1997. He began his coaching career later that year as an assistant at Macalester, followed by assistant roles at Furman, Minnesota, and Colorado State.
Niko Medved in the 1st halfMedved got a contract extension last year, which included a significant pay raise, bringing his salary to $1.7 million this season
The contract also had options that would carry it through the 2030-31 season. He finished with a 143-85 record at Colorado State, making it the second-best winning percentage in the school’s history. Medved has a 222-173 record in his 12-year coaching career.
Under Medved, the Rams had at least one first-team All-Mountain West player in every season he coached. Last year, their highest ranking in The Associated Press college basketball poll was 13th, which was the best in school history.
Minnesota struggled with a 9-22 record and a 2-17 Big Ten record in 2022-23. However, the team showed improvement in 2023-24 by making the NIT and finishing with a 19-15 record. This season, the Gophers had one of the worst records in the conference, finishing 15-17.
In the 28 years since their one and only Final Four appearance, which was later vacated due to NCAA penalties for academic fraud exposed by a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota has only made the NCAA Tournament seven times, with just two wins.
Over the past 20 seasons, the Gophers have had a winning record in Big Ten play just once, finishing 11-7 in 2016-17 under coach Richard Pitino.
Coloado State players celebrate after the winMedved’s buyout from Colorado State is 33% of the remaining value of his contract, which is around $3.7 million
Ben Johnson, who had an annual salary of $1.95 million, the lowest in the 18-team Big Ten, had a buyout of about $2.9 million.
This is a costly transition for athletic director Mark Coyle, whose goal is to make the program relevant again in both the local sports scene and in the competitive, expanded Big Ten. This will likely require the university to make a greater financial commitment, especially with the revenue-sharing system in college sports.
Johnson had to rebuild the team’s rosters multiple times due to the transfer portal era, with some of his best players being drawn away by better NIL deals. While Johnson had strong local ties as a Minneapolis native, he struggled to tap into the state’s talent pool to build a successful foundation for the program.
One of Johnson’s assistants, Dave Thorson, was previously an assistant at Colorado State under Medved and would be a good fit for the new staff. Thorson could help recruit local talent from Minnesota, which consistently produces players good enough for power conferences.
Medved also coached Minneapolis native David Roddy at Colorado State. Roddy was a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA draft and currently plays for the Houston Rockets.
“We need somebody who embraces Minnesota,” Coyle said after firing Johnson. “We need somebody who’s going to generate excitement. At the end of the day, I’m a firm believer: When you’re winning games, people want to be a part of that.”
