Story byPioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Men’s basketball: Niko Medved to receive contract extension

Andy Greder, Pioneer PressMon, July 20, 2026 at 3:11 PM UTC·2 min read

Gophers men’s basketball coach Niko Medved is set to receive a one-year contract extension, pending Board of Regents approval this week.

Medved’s deal will now extend through the 2031-32 season and includes a $200,000 raise to $3.2 million. Overall, it breaks down to $400,000 in base salary and $2.8 million in supplemental compensation.

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Medved’s pay was previously set to increase $100,000 each year in annual escalators. His total compensation ranks 17th out of 18 Big Ten men’s basketball coaches.

In the initial deal signed in March 2025, the U and Medved agreed to “engage in a good faith review of the contract terms and provisions” after Year 2 of the contract to “determine if any enhancements should be made.”

Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle and Medved made those “enhancements” a year earlier than scheduled.

Medved’s first Gophers team went 15-18 overall and 8-12 in conference play. His team was decimated by injuries but remained competitive and ended its season at the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas.

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Medved’s buyout clause for him to leave the Gophers for any head coaching position comes with a fee of $10 million during this upcoming season, $7 million in Year 3, $5 million in Year 4, $3 million in Year 5, $500,000 in Year 6 and zero in Year 7.

If the U terminates Medved’s contract without cause through Year 4, the termination fee to the coach is the total compensation Medved would have earned over the life of the contract. If the U terminates him after Year 4, the U will pay 75% of the remaining total compensation over the full term of the contract.

Medved is currently set to make a total of $20.7 million in the remaining term of his deal.

His adjusted contract bonuses are: reach NCAA tournament round of 64 ($50,000), round of 32 ($75,000), Sweet Sixteen ($100,000), Elite Eight ($150,000), Final Four ($200,000), NCAA runner-up ($300,000), NCAA champion ($500,000). These bonuses are not cumulative.

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In Big Ten play, Medved will receive $50,000 bonuses if he achieves three different things: posts a winning conference record in regular-season play, is the regular-season champion and is the tournament champion. Those bonuses are cumulative.

Medved signed the contract amendment June 22; the Board of Regents will address it on Wednesday.

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