After 1 a.m. Thursday, the Gophers athletics department announced it has parted ways with men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson. The decision came hours after Minnesota lost its first-round game in the Big Ten’s conference tournament in Indianapolis.
“I met with Ben in-person early this morning when the team returned to Minneapolis from the … men’s basketball tournament and informed him that we will be making a change in leadership,” athletics director Mark Coyle said in a prepared statement. ” I thanked him for his dedication and for guiding the program, one he cares deeply about, for the last four years. Ben is a terrific person, and we wish him well.”
“These decisions are difficult and are made after careful consideration and evaluation. The expectation for our program is to compete for championships, and unfortunately, we have not done that in the last four years.
“This is an extremely desirable job in one of the best conferences and cities in the nation, and we fully expect to compete at the highest level on and off the court. We provide a world-class experience for our student-athletes, have one of the best practice facilities in the nation and play games in a historic venue. We offer everything that is needed to be successful, and we will immediately begin a nationwide search for our next men’s basketball coach.”
Johnson was 56-71 overall, 22-57 in Big Ten play over four seasons. He was 15-17, including 7-13 in conference play this season. The U finished 12th in the Big Ten this season, after preseason predictions placed them last (18th) in the newly expanded conference.
“These decisions are difficult and are made after careful consideration and evaluation,” Coyle said in his statement. “The expectations for our program is to compete for championships, and unfortunately, we have not done that in the last four years. This is an extremely desirable job in one of the best conferences and cities in the nation. And we full expect to compete at the highest level on and off the court.”
The Gophers have one of the lowest NIL (name, image and likeness) funds in the Big Ten at less than $1 million, the Pioneer Press understands. Minnesota improved to 9-11 in conference play last season, but then lost two key players (center Pharrel Payne and point guard Elijah Hawkins) to bigger NIL deals in Texas and freshman shooting guard Cam Christie to the NBA draft.
Minnesota now owes Johnson a $2.9 million buyout, in addition to paying a new coach in salary, and perhaps a buyout to another school to bring him to Minnesota. Johnson’s current total pay of $2 million is a relative bargain, coming in at 62nd in the nation, according to USA Today.
This comes as college sports are entering a critical crossroads with the expected addition of revenue sharing directly from schools to players. Big Ten programs are expected to have a little more than $20 million to spend annually, and Minnesota plans to distribute more to men’s basketball than its Big Ten peers, the Pioneer Press confirmed.
Coyle, who was hired in 2016, will need to hire a second head coach after he fired Richard Pitino after Pitino’s eighth season in charge in 2020-21.
Johnson sounded hopeful after Wednesday’s 72-64 loss to Northwestern. At Gainbridge Fieldhouse, he turned his attention to retention of current players and adding newcomers for next season, when the NCAA transfer portal opens later this month.
“We’ve got to attack the portal and be able to take a step,” Johnson told reporters. “I like some of the guys that are going to return — whether it’s (guard Isaac Asuma), whether it’s (forward Frank Mitchell), some other guys that have some options they’ve got to think about. We’ve got to do a better job in the portal of just identifying guys that are going to be able to just be really impactful and thankful to have the resources now to do it.”
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