Minnesota coach resigns; KU's Self gets extension

MINNEAPOLIS -- Dan Monson resigned as the men's basketball coach at Minnesota on Thursday, one day after the Gophers' fifth straight defeat left them with their longest losing streak in more than 40 years.

Assistant coach Jim Molinari will take over as interim head coach.

The Gophers fell to 2-5 with a 90-68 home loss to Clemson on Wednesday night. Minnesota's skid is its worst in nonconference play since a six-game slide during the 1962-63 season.

Monson, who received a $1.1 million buyout from the university, said "a new voice" was needed.

"I think at the end of the day as a coach, if you're not putting the players first, if you're not putting the university first, you're not doing the job. And I'm trying to do my job here."

Said athletic director Joel Maturi: "The program's not in the position we want it to be in."

Monson had come under increasing fire to turn around a program hurt by an academic fraud scandal under former coach Clem Haskins. That scandal wiped Minnesota's 1997 Final Four trip off the record books.

The Gophers emerged from NCAA sanctions in Monson's tenure, but by his eighth season, fans wanted more.

Monson, who was hired away from Gonzaga, had a 118-106 overall record but was 44-68 in the Big Ten. He led the team to the NCAA tournament two years ago in a 21-11 season.

The problems began this year in the exhibition season when the Gophers lost to Division II Winona State at home.

"I feel like I did what I was asked to come here to do," Monson said. "With that, I have no apologies for where the program is.

"It's time for somebody else to make the next step and that's to have more success on the court than I had."

Five more years for Self

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self got a five-year contract extension Thursday that bumps up his annual compensation to more than $1.3 million.

Under the deal, which began retroactively on April 1 and goes through March 2011, Self will be paid $220,000 in salary with additional payments for professional services, public relations and promotional duties -- boosting his annual compensation to $1.375 million. He could make an additional $350,000 per year if he meets certain incentives.

He previously was paid $129,380 in annual salary.

"I am excited because we love it here at KU," Self said. "We love the players in our program, we love the direction that we're going, and we love the people that we work with. We're very excited to be a part of it for at least five more years."

Under Self's old deal, he was guaranteed $350,000 from apparel and footwear agreements, $400,000 for professional services, and $250,000 in summer basketball camp revenue. How the new contract breaks down such add-ons was not released Thursday.

Self's new contract also includes a retention agreement that would pay Self an additional $225,000 for each year of the extension, effectively bumping his annual salary to just over $1.6 million if he's the head coach through March 2011. Self wouldn't receive the extra money until then.