Dawn Plitzuweit will be the new Minnesota women’s basketball coach, a person familiar with the deal told The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:
- The Gophers zeroed in on her over the last several days as the top candidate after former Minnesota coach and program legend Lindsay Whalen stepped down on March 2.
- The move shows a commitment from Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle to position the Gophers to climb in the Big Ten ahead of USC and UCLA joining the conference in August 2024.
- The Wisconsin native was named the head coach at West Virginia last April following a highly successful six-year run at South Dakota, where she led the Coyotes to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Plitzuweit will be introduced in a press conference Monday.
Backstory
The Gophers went 11-19 in the latest season under Whalen, and 4-14 in Big Ten play, despite recruiting the best class in program history this year. Their season ended in a 72-67 loss to Penn State at the Big Ten tournament. Whalen coached the Gophers from 2018 to 2023 and compiled an overall record of 71-76 (32-58 in conference play) across five seasons.
During Plitzuweit’s final season in Vermillion, South Dakota advanced to the Sweet 16 earning its first NCAA wins in program history. Plitzuweit also had head coaching…
