Niko Medved grew up in a Gophers basketball family and is now the team’s head coach

Niko Medved’s connection to the Gophers started even before he was born, when his father purchased season tickets that sparked his love for college basketball.

With this early introduction, it seemed almost certain that he would eventually become the coach at Minnesota, even though part of him still couldn’t believe the job he left Colorado State for was actually his.

“If you really believe in something and you stick with it and you get the right people who support you, anything can happen,” Medved said during his introductory press conference, which was attended by his family, current players, program supporters, and other Gophers coaches and cheerleaders in maroon and gold.

Medved, who was given a six-year contract starting at $3 million annually, never imagined such a salary when he enrolled at Minnesota in 1992 and became a student manager on the team under coach Clem Haskins.

At that time, Williams Arena was much harder for opponents to win in, and Gophers basketball was extremely popular in town.

“It’s just a magical place,” Medved said.

Williams Arena, often called “The Barn,” is 97 years old and has an uncertain future. Gophers fans often argue whether it should be torn down and replaced or simply renovated to improve the fan experience. But Medved made it clear that his focus is on recruiting, staff, and community support, not the age of the arena. The Gophers do have a new practice facility that opened in 2018.

“When that place is packed, there’s a certain energy in there that’s different than anywhere you go,” Medved said. “There’s ghosts in Williams Arena. Do you know what I mean? In a good way. I want that to be a strength of our program.”

Details of his contract, released by the university on Tuesday, include annual raises of $100,000 and automatic one-year extensions for each NCAA Tournament appearance. The deal still needs to go through a background check and be approved by the Board of Regents within two weeks.

Athletic director Mark Coyle has made it clear that improving men’s basketball is a priority, a commitment that comes at a high cost. Colorado State is owed a buyout for Medved, which is one-third of the remaining value on his contract.

Minnesota also has a buyout of about $2.9 million for his predecessor, Ben Johnson

Including Medved’s $1 million salary increase compared to Johnson’s, the total cost of this transition, even with the money coming from different sources, is more than $10 million.

Coyle stated that the athletic department’s budget can cover these expenses without going into debt, with reserve funds being used for Medved’s buyout. His goal is for the men’s basketball team to be paid, including revenue sharing and NIL money, at a level that ranks in the top one-third of the Big Ten.

One way to help achieve this is by filling more seats at Williams Arena. The average attendance for 19 home games this season was 8,923 fans per game, which is about 61% of the arena’s total capacity.

“Our crowds weren’t what we hoped they would be. When the fans did show up, they were awesome and they were loud, but there’s no doubt we need that energy, that excitement,” Coyle said. “That’s no disrespect to anybody before, but we needed something different.”

Johnson, who was from the Twin Cities area and had been an assistant with the team, was replaced by Medved, who brings 12 years of head coaching experience at Furman, Drake, and Colorado State. Medved took a moment to praise Johnson at the start of his speech, showing respect for their friendship in the competitive world of coaching.

Under Johnson, the Gophers never made the NCAA Tournament in four years, and they’ve only been there twice in the past 12 years. That makes it a good starting point for Medved.

“I just feel like now is a time,” Medved said. “We’ve gone through this transition in college athletics, and now is the time more than ever that Minnesota is poised to take the next step forward.”