Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck agreed to a new seven-year contract and a significant raise, the school announced Tuesday.
Fleck, who is making $3.6 million this season, will earn $4.6 million in 2020, with a $50,000 raise scheduled for each year of the contract, which takes Fleck through the 2026 season.
He would the owe the school $10 million if he left before Dec. 31, 2020, with the buyout decreasing in subsequent years.
The contract, pending approval from the Board of Regents, adds three years to his previous deal and comes as Fleck has the No. 13 Gophers off to an 8-0 start for the first time since 1941. Minnesota, which is 5-0 in the Big Ten, plays its biggest game of the season so far when No. 5 Penn State visits on Saturday.
“It is a tremendous honor to lead this team and represent the University of Minnesota and this great state,” the 38-year-old Fleck said in a statement.
“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.”
Fleck is 20-13 in his third season at Minnesota after four years as the head coach at Western Michigan, where he became known for his “Row the Boat” rallying cry that he took with him to Minneapolis. In 2016, he led the Broncos to a 13-1 record and the Cotton Bowl, where they lost 24-16 to Wisconsin, before he became a candidate at Minnesota, which fired Tracy Claeys.
Fleck originally signed a five-year, $18 million contract in 2017 and received one-year extensions in 2017 and 2018.
Fleck is 50-35 in his seventh season as a head coach.