Niko Medved Pens Farewell Message to Colorado State Ahead of Move to Minnesota

The ex-Rams coach is headed back to his alma mater.

by: Karl Rasmussen

Posted: Mar 24, 2025 / 05:42 PM EDT

Updated: Mar 24, 2025 / 05:42 PM EDT

Niko Medved is set to take over as head coach of the Minnesota men’s basketball team following a successful run at Colorado State.

The Rams were eliminated from the NCAA tournament on Sunday night, and the Golden Gophers moved quickly to bring Medved back to his home state and make him the head coach at his alma mater.

After Medved was officially named Minnesota’s coach, he took to social media to bid farewell to Colorado State in a heartfelt message.

“It’s not very often that you get to live a life you dreamed about. Coming to Fort Collins and CSU as an assistant back in 2007 changed my life. I have been blessed to be a part of a great rebuild as an assistant for six seasons and also as the head coach for the last seven seasons,” said Medved in part of his address.

THANK YOU Ram Nation for everything! We love you! #TeamTogether pic.twitter.com/5gia3LkwGg

— Niko Medved (@coachNikoMedved) March 24, 2025

Medved served as an assistant coach for the Rams from 2007 to ’13, before departing to take over as head coach at Furman. He then had a one-year stint with Drake, before returning to Colorado State, where he was the head coach for the last seven years from 2019 to ’25.

Medved led the Rams to the NCAA tournament in three seasons throughout his tenure with the program, including 2022, 2024 and in 2025. This year, he guided the program to its first win in the NCAA tournament since 2013, and was just seconds away from getting Colorado State into the Sweet 16.

He leaves Fort Collins with a coaching record of 143–85 and is the second-winningest coach in school history.