CSU Rams earn first NCAA Tournament berth since 2013, as No. 6 seed against Michigan Wolverines

It’s the first March Madness bid for the Rams (25-5) since March 2013 and the first under fourth-year basketball coach Niko Medved

Sports Sports | Mar 13, 2022

Sean Keeler
The Denver Post

Isaiah Stevens (4) of the Colorado State Rams celebrates hitting a 3-pointer during a big run to close the first half against the Air Force Falcons at at Moby Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022.

For the first time in almost a decade, CSU’s Rams are putting their NCAA Tournament dancing on shoes again. And dancing with one of the blue bloods of college basketball.

Their first port of call? Indianapolis, as a No. 6 seed on Thursday, against the 11th-seeded Michigan Wolverines.

It’s the first NCAA tourney bid for the Rams (25-5) since March 2013 and the first under fourth-year coach Niko Medved, who inked an amended contract that will keep him in Fort Collins through 2029, the university announced just before the selection show.

CSU’s 6 seed is the best in program history, besting the slot on the 8 line received by the Rams in the ’13 Big Dance. CSU bested No. 9 Missouri in the Round of 64 nine years ago, 84-72, and were eventually eliminated by top-seeded Louisville, 82-56.

As part of the new deal, the 48-year-old Medved is slated to make $1.1 million in base compensation through June 30, 2024, with a jump to $1.15 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year, then $1.2 million in ’25-26, $1.25 million in ’26-27 and $1.3 million, potentially, in ’27-28 and ’27-29, “if the additional years are exercised by either party.”

The total base compensation is $9.5 million from April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2029. Medved, or a future employer, would need to pay 33% of the remaining base pay to buy out the contract.