Whale of a week, from Marlene Stollings' exit to Lindsay Whalen's Gophers return

Monday: Marlene Stollings accepts Texas Tech's offer and leaves Minnesota after four seasons. She received a $200,000 annual raise to $700,000 and $200,000 signing bonus in the process.

Tuesday and Wednesday: Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle does his regular radio interview Tuesday morning, and then disappears. Interview and media requests are denied by U officials. Later, the Star Tribune learned Coyle had contact with Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, among others, during this time.

Thursday: An afternoon tweet from the university ("Welcome home, Coach Whalen") blows up and takes over the news cycle. Whalen's hiring becomes front-page news and the lead story on newscasts.

Friday: Whalen, still the Lynx point guard, is introduced as Gophers coach.