They started talking, in earnest, in January.
By the time the Gophers women's basketball team's appearance in the Big Ten Conference tournament ended Thursday, Lindsay Whalen and Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle had agreed.
Whalen's contract has been extended by a year, pending Board of Regents approval. She is now under contract through the 2024-25 season.
According to Regents documents released Friday, Whalen is set to make $547,000 in base salary next season, $575,000 in 2023-24, and $600,000 in 2024-25.
Her four seasons at the helm of the team has not yet produced an NCAA tournament bid. But the extension shows Coyle's belief the program is headed in the right direction, a feeling Whalen echoed.
"I'm a first-time coach,'' she said. "From what I can see and tell, looking at the Big Ten, it takes time. We've worked on relationships with younger players in the state, nationally and regionally. I feel, record-wise, this year we would like it to have looked different. But the way the team has played in the last month, and with the players that are coming in, I feel really good.''
The Gophers' loss to Northwestern Thursday put the Gophers record at 14-17. In Big Ten regular seas0n play Minnesota started 2-7 but finished 5-4, with much of that improvement coming after guard Jasmine Powell announced her decision to leave the team and enter the NCAA transfer portal.
Indeed, the Gophers are still hoping there will be a post-season option available.
The team's strength of schedule, their net ranking (currently 90th) and their play down the stretch could prompt the Women's NIT – which usually requires a winning record – to offer a bid.
Under Whalen the Gophers are 59-56 overall, 28-44 in Big Ten play.
The team will return leading scorer Sara Scalia, a second-team All-Big Ten player who scored in double figures the last 21 games. Incoming players include a recruiting class ranked 10th in the nation by ESPN that includes four Minnesota players in Mara Braun (Wayzata), Nia Holloway (Eden Prairie), Amaya Battle (Hopkins) and Mallory Heyer (Chaska).
"We battled through this year, in a tough conference, with a tough non-conference schedule,'' Whalen said. "We have good players coming in, I feel very excited about the future.''
Gophers give Lindsay Whalen one-year contract extension, pending Regents approval - Star Tribune
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