Paul Chryst vs. PJ Fleck: Evaluating the extreme differences in personality

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MplsGopher said:
Of course it has, because he installed it.

I don't get your point. Fleck could just as easily promote "Ski U Mah, Go Gophers" as hard as he did his own personal brand.


What are Chyrst's?

Are they on Wisc's uniforms and helmets? Is their merch decked out in it?
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I always liked "turnover chain, my f***in' ass"


No sanctioned merch on that, though. Too specific to playing Miami, I guess...
 


nitramnaed said:

I think it's more complicated than that. Found this on a blog post of a local Patent Attorney:​

Row the Boat and Ski-U-Mah – Trademarks, Copyrights, Tee-shirts, and Licensing​

by Christensen, Fonder, Dardi | Oct 26, 2020 | Intellectual Property

I think it's more complicated than that. Found this on a blog post of a local Patent Attorney:
The “Row the Boat” mantra of Coach P.J. Fleck and the ancient Ski-U-Mah of the University of Minnesota football team are ubiquitous. However, these phrases have a complex legal history with regards to ownership. After all, everyone says them, so how can they be owned?

The “Row The Boat” issue and intellectual property​

Coach P.J. Fleck is credited as the creator of the slogan “Row The Boat.” However, his employer at the time, Western Michigan’s board of trustees was the entity that secured a trademark for this slogan in 2013. To bring the slogan with him to the University of Minnesota, Coach Fleck agreed to donate $10,000 annually for five years to Western Michigan’s scholarship funds. He also agreed to his previous commitment to donate $50,000 towards renovations of Western Michigan’s football center.

When the slogan was first created, the university had to own the trademark and licensing rights, or else it could not be soled as a university logo due to NCAA rules. However, Coach Fleck never agreed to giving the University these rights and was never paid for the use of the slogan. Coach Fleck has expressed a desire to purchase the slogan and take it with him to the University of Minnesota.

What about the Ski-U-Mah slogan?​

Coach Fleck would like to use the “Row the Boat” slogan along with the University of Minnesota’s “Ski-U-Mah” slogan. However, this is dependent on Western Michigan allowing him to take the slogan with him to U of M. When researching the meaning of U of M’s “Ski-U-Mah” slogan, Coach Fleck was pleased to find that Ski-U-Mah’s origins were founded in canoe racing. He has used both phrases in his Twitter bio and the “Row the Boat” mantra has been picked up by U of M fans.

Who really owns these phrases?​

As this shows, just because a slogan is widely used by football fans, slogans can be trademarked and licensed, meaning the rights to use the slogan officially belong to the trademark and license holder. Future posts on this blog will address licensing, trademarking and how the “Row the Boat” intellectual property issues were resolved.


Previous posts on this blog discussed the intellectual property issue regarding Coach P.J. Fleck’s ability to bring the “Row the Boat” slogan to the University of Minnesota. The resolution to the licensing issue was ultimately made through negotiations.

Who came up with the “Row The Boat” slogan and how does it fit in with existing U of M slogans?​

The “Row The Boat” slogan was coined by Coach Fleck following the death of his infant son. When Coach Fleck came to U of M, the University intended to blend “Row The Boat” with the University’s own “Ski-U-Mah” slogan, as a means of “embracing the past to create the future.”

Who now owns the “Row The Boat” trademark and how was this negotiated?​

The “Row The Boat” trademark is now owned by Harlan Sports, which is the company that Coach Fleck’s agent founded. Western Michigan entered into a trademark assignment agreement after Coach Fleck was hired by the University of Minnesota. Western Michigan agreed to give up ownership of the slogan, which gave Coach Fleck the ability to bring his trademarked phrase to the University of Minnesota for its use. The slogan is now used on U of M uniforms, products and even for outside sales of Caribou Coffee products.

How is Coach Fleck permitted to use the “Row the Boat” trademark?​

Per the terms of their agreement, Fleck is now permitted to register “rowtheboat” on internet domains for personal use, and to use the slogan outside of the university, as long as the university receives prior notification and the university’s own trademarks are not used.

Coach Fleck is also permitted to use the Ski-U-Mah slogan and university colors on the “Row the Boat” designs as long as doing so is related to his duties as a coach. While Coach Fleck is not permitted to sublicense the use of the design to third parties, the University of Minnesota did give him royalty rights.

“Row the Boat” highlights the complexities of sports slogans and intellectual property​

It is important to note that, due to intellectual property rights, just because a logo or slogan is on the Internet does not mean it is free for the public to use for purposes such as selling products on third-party websites such as Etsy. Per Etsy policy, it can remove or disable access to such products on its website. However, requests for removal can only come from intellectual property owners or their authorized agents, not competitors. Making bad faith statements or material misrepresentations about infringement can be considered perjury and can lead to serious legal penalties. So, when looking for merchandise bearing the slogan of your favorite university or professional sports team, keep in mind that due to intellectual property rights, it is important to only buy from licensed sellers rather than trying to buy products from unlicensed sellers online.
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For goodness sake, football is getting too complicated. Soon, everyone involved in the sports has to have a lawyer present when issuing a penalty or calling plays. LOL! Lawyers are killjoys!
 

MNVCGUY said:
I'm going to do everyone a favor and let this argument go with MG's statement.

But I will say that Row the Boat has become synonymous with Gopher Football and there is a great story with a lot of meaning behind the mantra. You may hate it but players and fans have embraced it (for the most part) and when it is said it isn't about Fleck it is about the team.
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I don't care if he wears a muumuu (it's the don't bother to clean yourself dress) coming out of the tunnel. What I care about is that he can recruit, sell the Gopher brand, that the players buy into RTB, and he wins championships. Minnesota was a very difficult place for recruiting.

There is still memorable history unfolding.
 

hungan1 said:
I don't care if he wears a muumuu (it's the don't bother to clean yourself dress) coming out of the tunnel. What I care about is that he can recruit, sell the Gopher brand, that the players buy into RTB, and he wins championships. Minnesota was a very difficult place for recruiting.

There is still memorable history unfolding.
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Right.

So again, to reiterate what I've said from the beginning: if he turns us into Clemson, IDGAF what he wears, says, or does.

But, if all he does is get us up to say the level of Iowa anyway ... then I'd rather have that type of a "no nonsense, no frills, no gimmicks" coach.
 


We are hungry for titles. Sometimes, we are impatient. Blame it on PJ Fleck for having us set our expectations higher.

That is because he is showing us what is possible.

The only worry I have is our nagging and whining may someday run him out of town.

I believe that he will stay for the long haul if he wins championships or contends for one almost every year.

The Gopher Football program is getting close to Wisconsin’s and Iowa’s level. PJ can taste it, but the boat is not quite there yet.

I renember when Big Ten teams clamor to schedule the Gophers for homecoming. They were almost guaranteed gimmes.

Now, everyone is worried about the Gopher hurdle on their schedule.

Mason, then Kill gave us some hope. But, it was always a battle for the mid tier or to get out of the bottom tier in Big Ten play.

Belated Happy Turkey Day to GH! 🦃🐿️
 

MNVCGUY said:
Was making a broader point about the attention Fleck brings to the program
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People were interested in what Fleck could do with Minnesota, when he took over.

He was a very easy guy to root for, as the Western Michigan head coach taking that little MAC program to a NY6 bowl and then almost winning the game. Did some quirky, but likeable things, from the culture perspective, said the right things, etc.

That novelty wore off very quickly, when 2017 & 2018 were sabotaged by his terrible decision to hire Robb Smith as the DC.

I don't think, now, that Fleck alone gets Minnesota a single iota of attention or anything from any media or college football fans.

Any attention we get, is merely a factor of if we win more than usual.

MNVCGUY said:
not just about him leading the team out of the tunnel, which as I showed is very common
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Sure, but that (the tunnel thing) is just one bit of the whole schtick/gimmick.

MNVCGUY said:
Fleck doesn't need me to fight his battles, he could care less what you or I or anyone posting on this forum thinks about him or the program.
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could not* care less

"could care less" is a mistaken version of the above, and doesn't make any sense
 

Word said:
I do think there's more national exposure because of Fleck's marketing and media savvy
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Beyond what I just described in the post above, ie the novelty when he first took over ... I don't think this is true at all as of late. What are some examples of this, in your mind?

Word said:
I don't know if college GameDay would have been here without Fleck.
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Disagree 100%. They came here because we beat Penn St, were ranked, were 10-1 at the time, and it was the huge rivalry game for the West "title".
 

MplsGopher said:
I don't think, now, that Fleck alone gets Minnesota a single iota of attention or anything from any media or college football fans.

Any attention we get, is merely a factor of if we win more than usual.
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Well Fleck did make it to C'mon Man a couple weeks ago for his appearance. Go to 1:08
 



Nobody asked for my take but here it is anyway.

I agree with MplsGopher that if all things were equal, my personal preference would be for a coach that carries himself in the Ferentz/Chryst mold.

But it's like 99th on a list of importance to me. TO me the bottom line is....does he play by the rules? Does he win games? Does he have integrity? Etc., etc.,

Fleck is my guy. As long as he's the coach I'll be rowing the boat.
 

MplsGopher said:
Beyond what I just described in the post above, ie the novelty when he first took over ... I don't think this is true at all as of late. What are some examples of this, in your mind?


Disagree 100%. They came here because we beat Penn St, were ranked, were 10-1 at the time, and it was the huge rivalry game for the West "title".
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Hard to say whether or not Gameday comes here without Fleck. Maybe, maybe not. I think Fleck's media exposure helps with that kind of thing. He's also spent more time on national media than the prior 30 years of Gopher coaches combined. Not to mention the viral videos of the walk ons getting scholarships, etc. You've bragged about not having cable TV - maybe you're missing some of that?

Still don't know why people care so much about the Row the Boat and the sprinting at the end of the quarters. He runs a clean program, grades are sky high, and he's winning at a higher rate than we've won since the 60's. If Franklin and Tucker are worthy of their insane contracts, then Fleck is a bargain compared to those.
 

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