The University of Minnesota has locked up stability at the top, as the Board of Regents approved a new contract for head coach P.J. Fleck at its February meeting. The 2026 season will mark Fleck’s 10th in Minneapolis, a milestone that cements his place among the most impactful leaders in program history.
Fleck enters year ten with a 66-44 record at Minnesota, ranking fourth all-time in overall wins. His 39 Big Ten victories also sit fourth in school history, and his .600 winning percentage is the best by a Gopher coach since 1950. Among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games, only Henry L. Williams and Bernie Bierman own higher career win percentages. Fleck has coached 110 games at Minnesota, fifth-most ever, and across 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach holds a 96-66 record.
Sustained success has defined his tenure. Fleck and Williams are the only Gopher coaches to post nine or more wins in a season three times. Minnesota won 11 games in 2019 and nine games in both 2021 and 2022, making Fleck the only modern-era coach (since 1946) to accomplish that feat. The Gophers have also recorded eight-win seasons five times under Fleck (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025), tied for the most by any coach in school history. Four eight-win campaigns in the last five years mark a level of consistency not seen in more than a century.
Perhaps most remarkable is Fleck’s postseason dominance. He is 7-0 in bowl games, the most bowl wins by any coach in Minnesota history. Those seven victories account for half of the program’s 14 total bowl wins.
Player development, both on and off the field, has also flourished. Fleck has coached eight All-Americans, 10 Academic All-Americans and 488 Academic All-Big Ten honorees. He has also overseen 19 NFL Draft selections, and Minnesota is one of just nine programs nationally to produce a first- or second-round pick in each of the last six drafts (2020-25).
In 2025, Minnesota went 8-5 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten play, capped by a win over Wisconsin to retain Paul Bunyan’s Axe and a victory over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl. The Gophers also finished 7-0 at Huntington Bank Stadium — their first undefeated home season since 1967 and the first 7-0 home mark since 1931.
Row the Boat rolls on.