Rams coach Niko Medved linked to two power conference jobs

For the third time in his seven seasons as the leader of the Colorado State Rams, Niko Medved’s squad is dancing and with it comes all sorts of attention from other programs.

Medved, 51, has been connected to two power conference head coaching jobs with one seemingly keen to hire him as soon as possible. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Golden Gophers are preparing to hire their next head coach and Medved is the top candidate for the role. Medved has also been linked to the open job leading the Virginia Cavaliers.

Medved to Minnesota would make a lot of sense given he’s about as Land of 10,000 Lakes as it gets. The coach was born and raised in the Twin Cities area and stayed for college to attend the University of Minnesota. He got his coaching start at nearby Macalester in Saint Paul in 1997 as an assistant. Medved worked his way through the college ranks on staff at Furman, Colorado State and Minnesota. Then he got his first head coaching opportunity in 2013 at Furman, where he led the Paladins for four years, finishing with a Southern Conference regular season championship while he was named the conference’s coach of the year. He then jumped to Drake for a season and then got the gig in Fort Collins.

Minnesota just moved on from Ben Johnson, who led the Golden Gophers for four seasons. They only went over .500 one time in that span and have not made the tournament since a second-round run as a No. 10 seed back in 2018-19 led by now-New Mexico coach Richard Pitino, who has also been linked to the UVA job.

The last time Medved was on campus in 2006-07 was one of Minnesota’s roughest years as Dan Monson left midseason.

Medved has found his footing in the Fort, leading the Rams to a No. 13 AP Rank at one point to a First Four win over Virginia. He’s gotten and coached some great talent with the Rams including Isaiah Stevens, David Roddy and Nique Clifford.

In his coaching career, Medved’s teams are 221-172, with a 142-84 record at CSU.