MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – P.J. Fleck is leaving Western Michigan and heading to Minnesota to coach a football team reeling from a threatened boycott of a bowl game and the handling of a sexual assault investigation.
Both schools announced the move Friday. Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle cited Fleck’s “infectious energy and passion” and work building “a unique, positive culture” at Western Michigan. Fleck is to be introduced at an afternoon news conference at Minnesota.
The hiring comes three days after Coyle fired Tracy Claeys following a standoff between the team’s players and the administration over the suspension of 10 players in connection with the sex assault allegations.
Coyle promised to quickly find a replacement for Claeys despite this being late in college football’s hiring season. He needs a coach to plunge into recruiting and address the deep divisions between the players that remain and the school’s administration. Coyle and President Eric Kaler flew to Chicago on Wednesday for meetings. The two sides reached an agreement two days later.
Now Fleck has little time to waste in beginning to repair a fractured program.