It’s been a rough few years around the Minnesota athletic department as a result of several scandals but the man tasked with cleaning it all up is apparently doing enough of a job that he’ll be sticking around quite a bit longer in the Twin Cities.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the school’s board has approved a three-year extension for Athletic Director Mark Coyle that should see him top the $1 million mark annually provided he reaches several incentives in the new deal.
“When you have someone who is the best in his industry and his vocation, you need to keep them,” Regent Dean Johnson told the paper.
The timing is still interesting given that school President Eric Kaler is on his way out the door next summer but mostly keeps the financial terms of Coyle’s existing deal in place while tweaking the buyout slightly to make it easier for him to leave (if he sticks around for a few more years, at least).
Coyle joined the Gophers in 2016 after serving as AD at Syracuse and Boise State before that. Even though he’s only been around for just over two years, it’s been a busy tenure so far that has included dealing with the tragic loss of a former football player, a still-ongoing sexual assault scandal, fallout from a former AD’s quick departure and the hire of P.J. Fleck as head football coach.