A rational and prudent argument could have been made that the Gophers athletic department should have retained men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson for at least one more season.
He had an expensive contract buyout. Johnson also wasn’t given an lot of resources to build a team. With an influx of cash for the program coming in via $20.5 million in revenue sharing for athletes next year, why not see what Johnson could do with that money while saving the expense of firing him and hiring a new coach?
Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle did not think that way. He saw waning interest in the program, expressed through attendance and overall public consciousness, and decided to make a change.
His first-choice, hand-picked coach, Niko Medved, was announced Monday and introduced Tuesday. Medved is more accomplished than Johnson and surely more expensive. He is also poised to have a better chance, at least in theory, of bringing in more revenue through ticket sales and donor giving.
How much it helps in the Gophers’ quest to strengthen their financial commitment, in addition to that additional $20.5 million in revenue sharing, remains to be seen — something Chip Scoggins and I talked about on Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
What is clear for now is this: The Gophers are going for it. In modern sports, that is always a popular approach and often the correct one.
Coyle has said the Gophers plan to distribute the full $20.5 million in revenue sharing next year, a figure and process that should gain more clarity with a court ruling next month.
At his introductory news conference Tuesday, Medved did not shy away from talking about the role money plays in modern big-time men’s basketball, and he also indicated he thinks he will have the financial support he needs to win.
