Gophers coach Caravan returned on Monday after a pandemic-forced hiatus of two years. With one-liners, anecdotes, and nuggets of information shared at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, it was as if the once-annual event never fell off the calendar after 2019.
While the new limit on name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules hit the NCAA transfer portal and hangs over the future of college athletics, there were a few lighter moments at the first caravan stop. Here are some highlights:
not null
Football coach PJ Fleck, entering Minnesota’s sixth season this fall, said basketball coach Ben Johnson and soccer coach Erin Chastain played a role in the U.S.
“You screwed it up,” said Fleck. “… you can’t call Year 1 ‘Year 1’. Year 1 ‘Year 0!’ Hey my friends, you’ve passed year 0. And guess what: next year is number 1. (Eddie Mark Coyle) Don’t get a head start on numbers when you don’t need that.
“Just make my own stuff like I do!”
plays hustle
Whatever the numbers last winter, Fleck left the 2021–22 campaign impressed with Johnson’s team.
“Ben, I mean wholeheartedly, the way they play and how hard they play the defense and how fast they go up and down the court, you can see what’s going on in the future,” Fleck he said. “I think it’s very easy to see where our basketball program is going.”
timing is everything
When Cuckoo first introduced Flake, Eddie asked the capacity crowd a question: “How many of you didn’t think he’d be here for so long?” Koel asked.
“Me too,” replied the cuckoo.
With Fleck, Minnesota went 9-4 the year before, and with an 11-2 season in 2021, Fleck has won nine or more games since 1905, twice out of four. In November, Cuckoo signed Fleck to a new seven-year contract with $350,000 increasing to $5 million per year.
Fleck, half an hour later on Monday, had a chance to answer to his boss. “It was a joke. Hahaha,” said Fleck. “Some of you still don’t want me here. ‘You’re not gone yet, but I’m going to pick you up this year.'”
Volleyball coaches Hugh McCutcheon and Fleck had a power lunch for two at Athletes Village in April, and Fleck said that at that hour, the New Zealand and Illinois natives talked honestly about enjoying their lives in Minnesota .
take deep breaths
McCutcheon was the most successful of Chasca’s four coaches, scoring seven consecutive runs in the NCAA Tournament. He shared an insight into his “shaky” 1-3 start for the 2021 season.
“Mark called me… and he was a little flustered,” McCutcheon said to the laughter of the crowd. “Mark, give me a little bit of breathing room. I get it, the expectations are high, but we’ll be fine.”
U finished 22-9 and advanced to the Elite Eight. Given McCutcheon’s sterling resume, that anecdote may be the most ornate shared in the hour-long presentation.
jump for joy
After the Gophers football team snatched Paul Bunyan’s ax from Wisconsin at Huntington Bank Stadium in November, U.K. Stadium operations played “Jump Around”, which brought glee to Gophers fans as he performed the hip hop song Tradition at Badgers Camp Randall Stadium. Is.
“A lot of you thanked me and thought it was great,” Fleck said. “If there’s one thing I have zero control over, it’s the DJ for the game.”
stud starter
The Gophers football team – which has been welcoming around 20 players since 2021 – made two possible starts through the portal in the offseason: central midfielder Sofia Romaine (Wisconsin) and center back Gabby Cesarone (Washington University in St.
“(Cesarone) is going to be a stud on the back line,” Chastain said aloud.
brief
Coach Caravan has three more stops: Rochester on 24 May; Stillwater on June 6th; And Brainerd has yet to be announced on a date. … The Gophers’ student-athletes have a record 3.44 grade-point average, 3.6 with the football team, Coyle shared. Those stats came with a few “oohs” from the crowd. … Gopher Athletics is ranked 11th in the Director’s Cup for overall Division I athletic success after the winter season, “which means we are in the top five percentiles,” Coyle said. … said flake JJ Guedet, a presumed starter on perfect tackle on a remade offensive line in 2022, will be able to go through the summer workout without boundaries after missing all spring practices with an undisclosed issue. … Chastain, a Plymouth native and Vezzata High School graduate, was hired at her alma mater in July and said she felt more settled as she began moving into her new home on Monday.
