ESPN to air documentary series on Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck
Gather your oars, P.J. Fleck is coming to your television screen later this summer.
ESPN announced Thursday it will air a four-part series documenting Fleck in the lead up to his first season as the head coach at Minnesota. The show will follow Fleck documentary-style, giving college football fans a behind-the-scenes look at his coaching style — and his quick rise in the profession.
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Check out the trailer below:
“To no surprise, P.J. is all heart, all the time, no matter what he is doing, no matter what time of day,” said co-executive producer Bo Mattingly. “Throughout the filming, which continues for a few more weeks, we capture his personality, passion and drive with his family, his team and others he interacts with in various situations.”
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The first episode of “BEING P.J. Fleck” will air on ESPNU on Wednesday, Aug. 2, at 9 p.m. ET. The other episodes will air the following three Wednesdays: Aug. 9, 16 and 23.
Fleck, just 36, was hired by Minnesota in January after leading Western Michigan to an undefeated regular season. Fleck engineered an impressive turnaround at WMU. In his first season, 2013, the Broncos won just one game. WMU followed that up with eight-win seasons and bowl appearances in 2014 and 2015 before its historic run through the MAC in 2016.
The Broncos went 12-0 in the regular season and made it 13-0 by winning the MAC title game. WMU was the Group of 5 representative in the New Year’s Six bowl games, but lost to Wisconsin 24-16 in the Cotton Bowl. Less than a week later, he was introduced as Minnesota’s coach.
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Fleck is known for his intense style, especially the mantra, “Row the Boat.” Western Michigan actually had a trademark on the phrase but gave it over to Fleck after some negotiating. As part of the release of the slogan, Fleck will make a yearly gift of $10,000 to WMU. That money will go toward the scholarship of a WMU football player.
Minnesota will begin its first season under Fleck against Buffalo at home on Thursday, Aug. 31.
For more Minnesota news, TheGopherReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
