Sports rivalries are the best, and one of the oldest is the Minnesota vs. Wisconsin rivalry. Today, it was announced that the Minnesota Golden Gophers' head coach, P.J. Fleck, has been extended through 2030. It took seconds before rivals started the jokes about Fleck. Mostly from Wisconsin fans, but other Big Ten fans jumped in on the humor.
Maybe he can get to .500 in Big Ten games ❤️ https://t.co/WESWzSQSoQ
— Scary Alvarez (@barryisthedon) July 9, 2025
PJ Fleck signs a big extension to remain at Minnesota and rivals are loving it
Fleck has had a strange run at Minnesota, with one 11-2 season and a couple of 9-4 seasons, but also mixed in were a 3-4 and a 6-7 record. Not to mention his first year was a 5-7 season. These are all overall records, too, and his Big Ten success has been much more muted. As the Minnesota coach, he is 33-36 in Big Ten play, with his best season coming in the same year he helped the Gophers achieve 11 wins, including seven conference wins. However, that was in 2019, and there hasn't been as much success since.
a winning record is their ceiling and they know it
— James (@JamesBuckeye7) July 9, 2025
The Kirk Cousins of coaches https://t.co/GylU1jgFyv
— Dan (@DanJ_official) July 9, 2025
lol.
— Badger of Honor (@BadgerOfHonorFS) July 9, 2025
The Mayo King. https://t.co/z7FTsWfMDo
Wisconsin fans are looking to regain the upper hand in this rivalry, as in 2024, it didn't go their way. Though before Minnesota fans think they can get all high and mighty, Fleck is only .500 against the Badgers in a time and season in which Wisconsin was most beatable. That's not exactly good news for Golden Gopher fans, that when the Badgers were at their worst, Minnesota could only beat them four times out of the eight tries.
P.J. Fleck may be a good hire for Minnesota, but the bar is mediocrity, as many of the fans are joking about. It's a program that is content to not be at the bottom, and they currently aren't, so they will reward the coach who keeps them in subpar bowl games and competitive against their rivals.