This afternoon Minnesota announced that they have inked fourth-year head coach PJ Fleck to a new contract.
The new 7-year deal will keep Fleck, who has led the team to a 6-2 mark this season, on the Minnesota sidelines through the 2028 season.
In the school's release, Fleck makes it clear that he feels Minnesota is "home" after some mid-season openings around college football had his name floating around again this year.
From the release:
"Our family loves it here and we are excited to continue this journey at the University of Minnesota. From day one, we talked about cultural sustainability and how important it is to building a successful football program and life program. Today is another step in that process, and this new contract is a commitment to our elite staff and the entire state of Minnesota. Heather and I are so thankful to our staff, , President Joan Gabel and the Board of Regents for trusting us to lead this program. Our goal is to recruit and coach at an elite level and to have our young people achieve academic, athletic, social and spiritual excellence. It's a tremendous honor to lead this program, and we will continue to work to build a culture that connects the entire state."
No financial terms were disclosed in the release, but we will share them as they become available.
Over his last 34 games, Fleck is an impressive 24-10 overall and has guided Minnesota to an 11-win season, two wins against top-10 teams, and has had the Gophers ranked as high as #7 in the AP Poll under his leadership.
Before coming to Minnesota, Fleck went 30-22 in a quick rebuild of the Western Michigan program that saw them go 1-11 in his first season before jumping to 8-5 each of the next two seasons and a 13-1 mark in his final year in Kalamazoo.
This season, Minnesota opened with a strong showing against Ohio State in a 45-31 loss, won a tight one over Miami (OH), and then lost a four-point game to Bowling Green. Since that loss they have responded with wins over Purdue, Nebraska, Maryland and Northwestern and have games remaining against Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin with only their game against the Hawkeyes against a currently ranked opponent.
See the full release, complete with comments from AD Mark Coyle, here.