Basketball Hall-of-Famer Lindsay Whalen has stepped down as head coach of University of Minnesota women's basketball effective immediately, the program announced on Thursday. Whalen will remain with the Gophers' athletic department through April 2025 as a special assistant to director of athletics Mark Coyle.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Lindsay,” Coyle said in a statement. “I want to thank Lindsay for her hard work and dedication as a player and as the head coach of our women's basketball program. She is one of the greatest alums and ambassadors this University has ever produced and her legacy of being a Minnesota icon is etched in stone.”

Whalen took the reins with Minnesota in 2018, shortly after announcing retirements from her playing days. The WNBA legend with the Minnesota Lynx led her alma mater to a 71-76 overall record, twice helping the Gophers to the second of the women's NIT. Minnesota is just 11-19 this season and 4-14 in Big 10 play, both the worst marks of Whalen's tenure on the sidelines.

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“I want to thank Mark and the University for giving me the opportunity to lead this program five years ago,” she said. “It was an honor of a lifetime. I am grateful to my assistant coaches and staff and want to thank them for everything they did for our student-athletes during the last five years. We did things the right way and created a lot of memories, but now is the right time for me to step aside and return to being a proud alum. I look forward to supporting and cheering on the next head coach.”

Lindsay Whalen, 40, played with the Gophers from 2000-2004, taking the program to its only Final Four appearance as a senior and finishing her college career as a three-time All-American, the first in Minnesota history. She was inducted to The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year.