The Badgers top rival fired their head coach after four seasons early Thursday morning.
The first true coaching opening in the Big Ten came early on Thursday morning, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers announced in a press release that head coach Ben Johnson was relieved of his duties after another losing season.
Johnson and the Gophers had their postseason cut short, as Minnesota fell short in a 72-64 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats on Wednesday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Upon arriving back in Minnesota early Thursday morning, Johnson met with Athletic Director Mark Coyle, who informed the head coach he was being relieved.
“I met with Ben in-person early this morning when the team returned to Minneapolis from the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament and informed him that we were making a change in leadership. 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,” Coyle said in a statement.
“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 led Minnesota to a 15-17 record this season, marking his third losing season in four years with the Gophers. His lone winning campaign came in 2022-23 when Minnesota went 19-15.
Johnson finished his four-year tenure with a 21-57 record in the Big Ten. He went 0-7 against the Wisconsin Badgers during that stretch, with the latter sweeping the season series in each of the past four years.
Seems like the Badgers will have to sweep a new rival head coach next year.