The University of Minnesota and head football coach P.J. Fleck have agreed to a new seven-year contract extension, pending approval from the Board of Regents. The extension will keep Fleck in Maroon and Gold through the 2026 season.
"It is a tremendous honor to lead this team and represent the University of Minnesota and this great state," said Fleck. "Our family absolutely loves Minnesota, and we are excited to continue to call this state home. We are building a championship culture – one that our fans can be proud of – through the academic, athletic, social and spiritual development of our student athletes. Heather and I are so thankful to our staff, Mark Coyle, President Gabel and the Board of Regents for seeing the vision we have for our football program."
Fleck is in his third year at Minnesota and has the Gophers ranked No. 13 after an 8-0 start and a 5-0 mark in the Big Ten. He has led the Gophers to success the program has not seen in decades, as Minnesota was last 8-0 in 1941 and the Gophers were last 5-0 in the conference in 1961.
Minnesota has won 10 straight games under Fleck, which is the third-longest winning streak in the nation. In addition, the Gophers are 8-2 in their last 10 Big Ten games. That 8-2 mark in conference play leads the West division and ranks behind only Ohio State (10-0) and Penn State (9-1).
Fleck is 20-13 at Minnesota, but is 12-2 in his last 14 games. His winning percentage of 60.6% ranks third in school history for anyone who has coached more than 30 games and is the best since Bernie Bierman, who last coached at Minnesota in 1950. Fleck recorded his 50th career win earlier this year to become the second youngest active FBS coach to reach that milestone.
"Coach Fleck has built a program that competes academically, athletically and socially," said Athletics Director Mark Coyle. "He recruits at an extremely high level and the program is seeing success it has not seen in nearly 80 years. His students are succeeding off the field, as the team has posted a record GPA and continually gives back to the community. I am thankful to President Gabel and the Board of Regents for their continued support, and I look forward to Coach Fleck continuing to lead this program."
Off the field, Fleck and his team can often be found at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital and have given back to the community by hosting diaper drives, turkey drives, a school supply drive and a canned food drive.
In the classroom, Minnesota has posted program record GPAs under Fleck. Academic honorees have not been announced yet for the 2019 season, but Minnesota currently has 85 players with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. In 2018, Minnesota had 39 players named Academic All-Big Ten and led the Big Ten with three players named Academic All-American.