The Minnesota Gophers were a win away from making the 2026 Women’s Frozen Four an all-Big Ten gathering. But the absence of the team in maroon and gold may have ultimately cost Gophers coach Brad Frost his job.

On Tuesday afternoon, UMN athletics director Mark Coyle announced that Frost has been fired after 19 years at the helm of the Gophers program.

“Obviously very sad, disappointed, gutted,” Frost told the Pioneer Press.

Frost has a career record of 556–131–43, guiding the Gophers to their most recent NCAA title in 2016. In an exclusive interview with the Pioneer Press, Frost said Coyle met with him Tuesday morning with the news of his dismissal.

“Brad is a great coach and an even better person, which is why today is extremely difficult,” Coyle said in a statement released by the school. “This decision was made after a review of the program on and off the ice. We expect to contend at the highest level in every aspect of women’s college hockey, and right now we are not doing that.”

Frost, 52, came from Ontario to play collegiate hockey at Bethel. He coached at Eagan High School, his alma mater and as an assistant with the Gophers before taking over as Minnesota’s interim head coach in the 2007-08 season. Promoted to the full time position in 2008, Frost led the Gophers to four NCAA titles and 10 Frozen Four appearances, most recently last season when they fell to Wisconsin in the national semifinals.

“I’ve been at the U for 26 years, 19 of them as a head coach, with a lot of great success,” Frost said, “but I haven’t won a national championship in 10 years, and that’s that. As a person of faith, I believe I was put here for a reason and I still have things to give, so I’ll look forward to whatever comes next.”

The Gophers last won a WCHA regular season title in 2022, and of late have commonly finished behind Wisconsin and Ohio State, which have combined to win the past six NCAA titles — four by the Badgers and two by the Buckeyes. The Minnesota job is expected to be highly coveted, with the Gophers playing in one of the nation’s talent hotbeds and in Ridder Arena, considered one of the game’s best facilities.

“It was an honor to have Frosty as a coach for the five years that I did,” Minnesota Frost star and recent Olympic gold medal winner Taylor Heise said in a text to the Pioneer Press. “He’s a giver and always wants to make you better. I learned a lot hockey-wise, but most importantly he helped me learn a lot about myself outside of the sport. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him as my coach.”

Among the names likely to be mentioned as candidates for the job are current Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall, who played for and coached the Gophers under Frost and has led the Buckeyes to a pair of NCAA championships. Former Gophers player and assistant coach Natalie Darwitz, now CEO of the Minnesota Hockey Hall of Fame project, has been a successful head at the Division III level and may put her hat in the ring, as well.

Coyle said a nationwide search for the new Gophers coach will begin immediately.

The Gophers 2025-26 season ended last weekend with a 4-2 home loss to Northeastern in the NCAA quarterfinals. They finished the season 26-12-1.