COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Brenda Oldfield was hired as the women's basketball coach at Maryland on Tuesday after reviving the program at Minnesota in her first year.

The 31-year-old coach agreed to a six-year contract and is guaranteed $275,000 a year, Maryland athletic director Deborah Yow said.

Oldfield replaces Chris Weller, who retired in March after 27 years as coach.

Oldfield led the Golden Gophers to their first winning record since 1993-94 and was selected The Associated Press coach of the year.

Maryland plans to introduce Oldfield at a news conference Wednesday.

"She is an overachiever ... a dynamic and determined leader as a coach," Yow said. "Over time, she will put our program in a position to compete for the national championship as one of the elite women's basketball programs in the country."

Minnesota had offered Oldfield a "very competitive" package, women's athletic director Chris Voelz said. Her $130,000 annual base salary is less than half that of many coaches at comparable programs.

"I am honored to be recognized as the next coach to help lead Maryland women's basketball to be a national level contender," Oldfield said.

Oldfield, the Big Ten coach of the year, led Minnesota to a 22-8 record and a first-round victory in the NCAA tournament.

"They'll have fun playing for her, I know I did," Minnesota small forward Corrin Von Wald said. "And anytime they want to give her back they can."

In three seasons as a Division I coach, including two at Ball State, Oldfield had a 57-30 record.

Voelz said Oldfield wants to take her coaching staff with her.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Voelz said Oldfield told her she felt she couldn't win a national championship at Minnesota.

Oldfield believed, according to Voelz, that her title hopes at Maryland would be enhanced because of better weather, better facilities and a better talent base.

"Those three things she said were out of her control," Voelz said. "She said we had done everything we could to keep her."

At Maryland, Weller was 499-286, with eight Atlantic Coast Conference titles and three trips to the Final Four. This season, Maryland began the season ranked in the Top 25 but finished 13-17.

The change at Minnesota comes amid the prospect of NCAA sanctions for rule violations by Oldfield's predecessor, Cheryl Littlejohn.

A university investigation found Littlejohn paid a former player $200 to $300, made players practice outside NCAA-approved times and interfered with the inquiry.

The NCAA is to consider the case April 13. Potential penalties range from cutting scholarships and recruiting activities to a two-year shutdown of the program.

Minnesota contends Littlejohn's violations shouldn't fall under repeat offender rules because they occurred before the school was put on probation for academic cheating in the men's program.