Timeline of Richard Pitino's career with the Gophers
Pitino's eight-year Minnesota tenure was filled with several ups and downs.
March 16, 2021 at 6:16AM
April 3, 2013: At age 30, following one 8-14 season at Florida International, Richard Pitino is named the 17th coach in Gophers men's basketball history after Tubby Smith was fired.
April 3, 2014: One year later, Pitino wins the school's second official NIT championship, beating Hall of Famer Larry Brown's Southern Methodist squad at Madison Square Garden.
Feb. 26, 2015: The Gophers end a 15-game program losing streak in East Lansing, Mich., beating Michigan State 96-90 in overtime.
March 9, 2016: Pitino finishes his third season with a 33-point loss in the Big Ten tournament to Illinois. The U doesn't fire him after a program-worst 8-23 record, perhaps because of his $7 million buyout.
May 11, 2016: In newly hired athletic director Mark Coyle's first news conference, U President Eric Kaler says he's "profoundly disappointed" by the men's basketball program, for its on- and off-court actions, and expects Coyle to hold Pitino's team to higher standard.
March 2-16, 2017: The Gophers win their eighth consecutive game, leading to the biggest turnaround in program history. Pitino wins Big Ten coach of the year and makes his first NCAA tournament; as a No. 5 seed they lost to 12th-seeded Middle Tennessee State in the first round.
Jan. 6, 2018: Pitino loses to Indiana without starters Reggie Lynch (suspended) and Amir Coffey (shoulder injury), and the Gophers go 2-16 the rest of the season.
March 21, 2019: Pitino beats Louisville, where his father, Rick, once coached, in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Des Moines. Coyle later gives him a two-year extension through 2023-24.
Nov. 19, 2020: Sophomore All-America center Daniel Oturu, a hometown hero, breaks the Gophers' 16-year NBA draft drought by being selected in the second round.
Jan. 16, 2021: The Gophers upset No. 7 Michigan at the Barn, which catapults them to No. 16 in the national rankings after other wins vs. Iowa and Ohio State.
Feb. 27: In an emotional locker room speech after a fifth straight loss, to last-place Nebraska, Pitino leads members of his team to believe he won't be back as Gophers coach.
March 11: Pitino's eighth season ends with a loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament second round in Indianapolis.
March 15: Pitino is fired at age 38 with a record as Gophers coach of 141-123 and seven losing seasons in conference play.
Marcus Fuller
Penn State scored in the 88th minute and defeated Minnesota 1-0, its first home loss of the season.
