University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Bill Chaves announced on Wednesday that Head Men’s Basketball Coach Paul Sather has received a contract extension through the 2028-29 season.
“In today’s landscape of college athletics, it’s a challenging time to be a mid-major basketball program,” said Chaves. “With constant roster movement, NIL dynamics and increased competition for resources, stability and strong leadership matter more than ever. Paul [Sather] has provided that for our men’s basketball program. He has built a culture rooted in accountability, player development and pride in representing the University of North Dakota. Extending Paul’s [Sather] contract reflects our confidence in his vision and in the foundation he continues to strengthen.”
Sather is in his seventh season at the helm of the Fighting Hawks and has helped the program ascend to a top-3 spot in the Summit League standings in 2025-26. His team currently holds a 9-4 record in league action – sitting just one win behind matching the most wins by a UND men’s basketball team in Summit League play (10, 2023-24).
Over his career at North Dakota, Sather has produced multiple all-conference selections, finalists for major conference awards and a pair of Summit League Freshman of the Year winners. He has guided UND to a pair of Summit League Tournament semifinal appearances as well as reaching the title game in 2019-20.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead and help build North Dakota men’s basketball into a consistently competitive program that competes for Summit League championships,” said Sather. “This extension reflects the hard work and commitment from both our coaching staff and our student-athletes to build and uphold the standard that we have strived to create. We appreciate the support and belief from our UND administration and support staff, especially Dr. Andrew Armacost and Bill Chaves. We appreciate the tremendous support from Hawk Nation and look forward to finishing this season strong!”
Off the court, Sather’s teams have earned multiple academic distinctions as well as placing in the top-5 for community service hours by a Division I men’s basketball program in five of his seven years at North Dakota.
Armed with a collegiate coaching résumé that includes 21 years as a bench boss, Sather has an overall head coaching record of 369-280.
North Dakota’s Sather inks three-year extension through 2028-29 season
