University of Minnesota head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino announced Tuesday that Nate Pomeday has been promoted to assistant coach while Ryan Livingston was named the director of basketball operations. Pomeday, who spent the 2014-15 season as the Gophers’ director of operations, replaces Dan McHale who was named head coach at Eastern Kentucky University

“Nate was the natural choice for a variety of reasons,” Pitino said. “He’s hardworking, loyal and understands what our culture is about on a daily basis. He proved to be a great recruiter at Oregon State and understands the landscape of the Big Ten.”

Prior to his arrival in Minneapolis, Pomeday spent six seasons as assistant coach at Oregon State. He helped lead the Beavers to three postseason tournament berths, five nationally-ranked recruiting classes and several marquee victories. At Oregon State, Pomeday assisted in all aspects of the program, including national and international recruiting, scouting reports, game plans, practices and working with community and booster clubs. Pomeday was also head coach at Calumet College (Ind.) of St. Joseph and an assistant at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois.

A 1999 graduate of Northwestern, he was a standout guard for the Wildcats for four seasons and received his bachelor’s degree in communications and master’s degree in sports administration. Pomeday and his wife Heidi, along with their two daughters Everley and Ailani, reside in Minneapolis.

Livingston arrives at Minnesota after three seasons at Villanova, where he served as the Wildcats’ special assistant to the head coach. In that role, Livingston had oversight of all video operations including scouting, team breakdowns, and advanced statistics. His prior experience includes one season as the head varsity coach at Hawthorne (N.J.) Christian Academy and seven years on the coaching staff at his alma mater, Eastern University in St. David’s, Pa. Livingston played four years and was twice team captain, and also competed and coached on several foreign tours with Athletes in Action.

“Ryan worked for a program and a coach that I have respected all my life in Jay Wright and Villanova basketball,” said Pitino. “He will be able to step in from day one and make an impact on our basketball program. He brings an outsider’s perspective that will help move our program forward in the right direction.”

Livingston, who is engaged to his fiancé Megan, is a 2004 graduate of Eastern, where he also added a Masters in Education in 2009 along with a Masters in educational leadership from Villanova.

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