Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck said the reality TV show that is billed with his name and debuts next week on ESPNU wasn’t his idea. Speaking at Big Ten Media Days this morning in Chicago, Fleck was asked about the show along with several other questions during a session with reporters televised by the Big Ten Network.
“This wasn’t something that we said, ‘We’re going to have a reality show,’ let’s go find somebody to air it,” Fleck said. “They approached us, which was an honor.
“One thing I am hired to do is bring national exposure, national attention to the University of Minnesota, and that’s what we’re going to do. And the title, I don’t get to pick. You know, ‘Being P.J. Fleck,’ that’s not a title that I would necessarily pick, but I think it’s every head coach’s job and responsibility to bring attention to their institution. That’s not self-promoting, but I think every head football coach in America is self-promoting at some point.
“We’re all selling ourselves. We’re all showing what we’re like. We’re all selling our cultures. We’re all recruiting our cultures. We’re all developing our cultures.
“You’re the front porch of the institution. You’re not the most important thing on campus, but you’re the front porch of nationally of what everybody sees, and you’re representing a ton of people. …
“I have not seen the show. I’ve lived life, so I kind of know what that’s like. But I don’t know what the show is going to be like, so I don’t know if it’s going to be like the Kardashians—if they’re going to spin it that way, or it’s going to be a little bit tamer.
“It will be interesting to see what kind of comes out of the reality show. But…it’s about the University of Minnesota. It’s about ‘Rowing the Boat.’ It’s about our culture and our new program that we brought into the Twin Cities.”
“Being P.J. Fleck” debuts on ESPNU August 2 at 8 p.m. Minneapolis time, and three other 30-minute episodes will air August 9, 16 and 23. Each show will be available on demand via ESPN streaming devices.
Hired as Gophers coach last January, the series follows the 36-year-old Fleck throughout the offseason, and covers him in various settings, including team meetings, hospital visits and motivational speeches around the country. Viewers will have a look at Fleck’s upbringing, including his hometown and hearing from his family, and understanding the impact of two major coaching influences—Mike Nolan (New Orleans Saints linebackers coach) and Jim Tressel (Youngstown State president and former Ohio State coach).
Fleck is the second youngest major college head football coach in the country and a 24-7 package of non-stop energy. “To no surprise, P.J. is all heart, all the time,” said co-executive producer Bo Mattingly in a news release last week from the Gophers. A trailer about the series is available on YouTube.
Fleck was the first of seven Big Ten head football coaches to address the media today. He talked for approximately four minutes with prepared remarks before taking questions, longer than many coaches speak in Chicago but shorter than Indiana’s Tom Allen at five minutes yesterday. Reporters don’t always fill all the time allotted to ask questions of the Big Ten coaches, but this morning there were no gaps or cutting the Q&A short with Fleck.
After Fleck spoke, Big Ten Network studio host Mike Pizzo said to co-host Glen Mason, “If you didn’t have your coffee this morning, ‘Mase,’ before you got to Big Ten Media Day, I think you’re still okay energy wise now.”
“Well, most coaches want to get off the podium,” Mason said. “You get the feeling he’d like to be there all day.”
The Gophers start practices next week and Fleck meets with Minnesota media on Monday. Training camp begins Tuesday.
The Gophers are a popular media choice to finish fifth in the seven-team Big Ten West Division. Among the team’s expected strengths is running the football and Fleck brought Rodney Smith, last season’s top rusher, to Chicago to meet with media.
“He’s kind of the personality of our football team,” Fleck said. “Huge smile. Ton of energy, (and) very charismatic.”
While the Gophers had more than 20 offseason surgeries to players, they had good news in the classroom. Fleck said the team had the highest collective GPA in 25 years of documenting that number.