Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck has agreed to a seven-year, $42 million contract extension that will keep him under contract with the Golden Gophers through the 2029 season.
The extension, which raises Fleck's salary by $1 million annually, was first reported Wednesday afternoon by Matt Fortuna of The Athletic.
Fleck led Minnesota to an 8–4 season in 2022 as the Golden Gophers finished in a four-way tie for second place in the Big Ten West Division, one game behind first-place Purdue.
Minnesota is scheduled to play Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29 at Yankee Stadium. It will be the Golden Gophers’ fourth bowl appearance in six seasons under Fleck.
As noted by Fortuna, Fleck’s 43 wins across his first six seasons are the most by any Minnesota coach since College Football Hall of Fame coach Henry Williams guided the Golden Gophers to 65 wins from 1900 to ’05.
Minnesota hired Fleck away from Western Michigan on Jan. 6, 2017. In four years in Kalamazoo, Fleck turned the Broncos around from a 1–11 season in 2013 to a 13–1 season in 2016. In his final year, Western Michigan won its first 13 games and the MAC title before falling to Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl.
After starting his Minnesota tenure with 5–7 and 7–6 seasons, the Golden Gophers opened the 2019 season 9–0, climbing to No. 7 in the AP Poll—their highest ranking in 57 years. A pair of late losses foiled their Big Ten title hopes, but they recovered to win 11 games for the first time since 1904.
Fleck's task will grow tougher in the near future with the addition of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, as well as non-conference dates with North Carolina, California, and Mississippi State.
