Lindsay Whalen steps down as Gophers basketball coach after five seasons

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Lindsay Whalen is stepping down as the University of Minnesota women’s basketball coach after five seasons, Gophers’ Athletic Director Mark Coyle announced Thursday.

The Gophers finished 11-19 overall this season, just 4-14 in Big Ten play and had their season end in a 72-67 loss to Penn State on Wednesday at the Big Ten Tournament. That’s despite Whalen bringing in the top recruiting class in program history this season, led by four Minnesota natives.

Whalen will stay within the Gophers’ athletic department as a special assistant to Coyle.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Lindsay,” Coyle said in a statement. “I want to thank Lindsay for her hard work and dedication as a player and as the head coach of our women’s basketball program. She is one of the greatest alums and ambassadors this University has ever produced and her legacy of being a Minnesota icon is etched in stone.”

“I want to thank Mark and the University for giving me the opportunity to lead this program five years ago,” Whalen said in a statement. “It was an honor of a lifetime. I am grateful to my assistant coaches and staff and want to thank them for everything they did for our student-athletes during the last five years. We did things the right way and created a lot of memories, but now is the right time for me to step aside and return to being a proud alum. I look forward to supporting and cheering on the next head coach.”

Whalen went 71-76 in five seasons with the Gophers, including 32-58 in Big Ten play.

Coyle said a national search to replace Whalen will begin immediately.