Gophers head women's basketball coach Pam Borton received a two-year contract extension shortly before former athletics director Joel Maturi's tenure ended in June 2012, current AD Norwood Teague confirmed Thursday.

Contract extensions happen all the time, but this particular extension was strange because it wasn't announced publicly. Borton confirmed the extension to the Star Tribune on Wednesday.

Teague, speaking to the media for the first time in months, said he was not part of the decision.

"I would’ve wanted to announce it. I always want to be as transparent as possible — we don’t want to hide anything," he said. "When you have a high-paid coach sign, you want to do that."

Borton, who has coached the Gophers women since 2002, led them to a Final Four appearance in 2004. But Minnesota hasn't made an NCAA Tournament since 2009, and average attendance is below 3,500 the last three years.

The Gophers beat No. 7 Penn State last night. They're 6-9 in Big Ten play this season, and with one regular season game remaining, they'll need to make a run in the Big Ten Tournament to put themselves in play for an NCAA Tournament berth this season.