The University of Minnesota's men's basketball team is known as the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This team has appeared in the NCAA tournament a total of 14 times with a record of 15–13, as of February 2025. However, their official record is 9-10 due to them vacating their tournament appearances from 1972, 1994, 1995, and 1997 respectively.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers compete in the Big Ten Conference. Despite their vacated tournament appearances, they have achieved three wins in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), winning the championship in 1993, 1998, and 2014 respectively. Minnesota's basketball team plays their home games at the Williams Arena. Initially known as the Minnesota Field House, the Williams Arena first opened its doors in 1928. It underwent a remodeling in 1950 and was then named after Henry L. Williams, the former Minnesota Golden Gophers football coach.
Minnesota's basketball head coach 2025
Ben Johnson is the head coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team. On March 22, 2021, Johnson was announced as the new head basketball coach for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. With this appointment, Johnson became the 18th head coach in the program's history. Prior to his coaching career, Johnson was a basketball player. He played basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats (1999 to 2001) and the Golden Gophers (2002 to 2004) during his collegiate years. Under Johnson's leadership, the team notched their first Big Ten Conference win when they defeated Michigan with a score of 75-65. This marked Minnesota's first win at Michigan since the 2010-11 season.
Ben Johnson's physical attributes
| Age | 44 years (born on December 23, 1980) |
| Height | 6’3” (191 cm) |
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) |
Ben Johnson’s age
Ben Johnson is 44 years old, as of February 2025. He was born on December 23, 1980, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. Johnson began playing basketball during his time at DeLaSalle High School and later went on to join Northwestern University.
Ben Johnson’s height
Ben Johnson’s height is approximately 6 feet and 3 inches or 191 cm.
Ben Johnson’s weight
Ben Johnson’s weight is approximately 85 kg or 187 pounds.
Minnesota's basketball head coach year-by-year
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team has had 18 head coaches in their 129-season history, as of February 2024. The first head coach of the Minnesota basketball team was L.J. Cooke, who also holds the record for the longest tenure as head coach, coaching from 1896 to 1924 for a total of 28 seasons.
Here is the list of Minnesota basketball head coaches year by year:
| No. | Tenure | Coach | Years | Record |
| – | 1894–1896 | No coach | 2 | 3–5 |
| 1 | 1896–1924 | L. J. Cooke | 28 | 250–135–2 |
| 2 | 1924–1927 | Harold Taylor | 3 | 19–30 |
| 3 | 1927–1942 1945–1948 | Dave MacMillan | 18 | 196–156 |
| 4 | 1942–1944 | Carl Nordly | 2 | 17–23 |
| 5 | 1944–1945 | Weston Mitchell | 1 | 8–13 |
| 6 | 1948–1959 | Osborne Cowles | 11 | 147–93 |
| 7 | 1959–1968 | John Kundla | 9 | 110–105 |
| 8 | 1968–1970 | Bill Fitch | 2 | 25–23 |
| 9 | 1970–1971 | George Hanson | 1 | 11–13 |
| 10 | 1971–1975 | Bill Musselman | 4 | 69–32 |
| 11 | 1975–1986 | Jim Dutcher | 11 | 190–113 |
| 12 | 1986 | Jimmy Williams | 1 | 2–9 |
| 13 | 1986–1999 | Clem Haskins | 13 | 111–100 |
| 14 | 1999–2006[ | Dan Monson | 8 | 118–106 |
| 15 | 2006–2007 | Jim Molinari | 1 | 7–17 |
| 16 | 2007–2013 | Tubby Smith | 6 | 124–81 |
| 17 | 2013–2021 | Richard Pitino | 8 | 141–123 |
| 18 | 2021–present | Ben Johnson | 3 | 41–54 |
Minnesota men’s basketball coaching staff 2025
Here is the list of all the coaching staff of the Minnesota men's basketball team, as of February 2025:
| Name | Title |
| Ben Johnson | Head Coach |
| Dave Thorson | Assistant Coach |
| Jason Kemp | Assistant Coach |
| Marcus Jenkins | Assistant Coach |
| Josh Adel | Assistant Coach |
| Ryan Livingston | Assistant AD/Director of Operations |
Assistant coaches
Dave Thorson, Jason Kemp, Marcus Jenkins, and Josh Adel are part of the coaching staff for the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team. Dave Thorson joined the Minnesota basketball staff as an assistant coach in April 2021. Prior to that, he spent the years 2018 to 2021 as an assistant at Colorado State.
Jason Kemp joined the Minnesota basketball staff as an assistant coach in April 2021. Before joining the Minnesota basketball team, he was the assistant coach at William & Mary from 2019 to 2021.
Josh Adel began his Minnesota Golden Gophers tenure as the operations director in 2013-14. He then moved into the video coordinator role in 2014-15, and in 2023 he became the assistant coach for the team.
Marcus Jenkins joined the Minnesota men's basketball staff as an assistant coach in May 2021. Previously, he was in the coaching staff at Richmond where he had worked since 2015 and had served as the Associate Head Coach since June 2018, as per Minnesota Golden Gophers' official website.
Minnesota men’s basketball support staff 2025
| Name | Title |
| Head Video Coordinator | Collin Southworth |
| Quality Control | Kelsey Steinhagen |
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Ryan Dotson, M.Ed., LAT, ATC |
| Director of Player Development | Spencer Cody |
| Graduate Manager | Jackson Purcell |
| Director of Sport Psychology Services | Dr. Carly Anderson |
| Associate Director - Academics | Kyle Quagliana |
| Team Sports Dietitian | Hailey Jarr |
FAQ's On Minnesota basketball coach
A. Ben Johnson is the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team since 2021, as of February 2025.
A. The home arena for Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball games is Williams Arena located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A. The Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team have appeared 14 times in the NCAA tournament throughout its history, as of February 2025.
A. The Minnesota men’s basketball team competes in the Big Ten Conference.
