'A lot more than the Gophers offered': How much did MSU-Mankato get to play Kentucky?

The Minnesota State men's basketball team played Kentucky in an exhibition game Tuesday night.

Minnesota State Head Coach Matt Margenthaler calls out as the Minnesota State Mavericks play the Nova Southeastern Sharks during the 2024 NCAA DII Men’s Basketball Championship at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Saturday, March 30, 2024. | MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press / USA TODAY NETWORK

In case you missed it, the defending Division II national champion Minnesota State-Mankato men's basketball team (Mankato's women's team also won the national title last season) played the University of Kentucky in a college hoops exhibition game at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night.

The final score was as one would expect it to be with Kentucky winning 98-67. It's unclear how much Kenutcky paid Minnesota State to travel to Lexington for the exhibition matchup, but Mavericks head coach Matt Margenthaler provided a humorous comment when longtime Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse asked him.

"A lot more than the Gophers offered," Margenthaler wrote in a text, according to Reusse.

MSU Mankato coach Matt Margenthaler, asked by text how much reigning D2 champs are receiving for Tuesday’s exhibition at Kentucky.
Response:
“A lot more than the Gophers offered. 😊”

— Patrick Reusse (@Patrick_Reusse) October 29, 2024

It's unclear if an exhibition offer has ever been made by the University of Minnesota to Minnesota State, but it would be a fun game to watch if it ever does happen. Last year's Minnesota State squad went 35-2 and won the national championship. That team had the chops to play with a number of Division I programs.

So how much did UK pay MSU to play? It's unknown, but a recent article that obtained signed copies of "buy" game contracts revealed that the average "buy" game can range from five figures to six figures in guaranteed money for the visiting school.

While the 2023-24 Mavericks won the first national title in program history, it was the 14th NCAA tournament appearance since Margenthaler was hired as head coach in 2001. The guy just keeps putting high-end basketball teams on the court in Mankato and it's led to a nice revenue stream from bigger schools like Kentucky interested in playing a top DII team.