The year 2020 has been especially taxing on the University of Minnesota football team and entire athletics department.
Following a historical 11-2 campaign in 2019, the Gophers are 2-3 and have one of the nation’s worst defenses heading into Saturday’s 11 a.m. game at Nebraska (2-4), where they are a 10.5-point underdog.
But at least Minnesota gets to play this week, and perhaps next week. The Gophers had to cancel their two most recent games — including their “Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Ax” against border rival Wisconsin — due to an outbreak of almost 50 coronavirus cases in the program, including over 25 coaches or staff members.
And at least the sport of football has a future of competition. The university’s athletic department decided to cut four men’s sports to save $1.6 million, a decision made after the school realized it would lose over $70 million in athletic revenue in 2020 due to the loss of ticket sales of the two revenue-generating sports of football and men’s basketball.
The football program’s massive $63 million budget — allotted for scholarships, gigantic coaching salaries, athletic support staff, and lavish facilities — juxtaposed with the impending extinction of the non-revenue sports, was featured on CBS News’ highly-rated ’60 Minutes’ on Sunday, a piece in which athletic director Mark Coyle declined to field on-camera questions.
So, why has P.J. Fleck’s program taken such a dramatic dive on the field, and how much responsibility should he shoulder for the out-of-control virus spread?
And how much of a stain is this CBS feature on Coyle and the athletic department?
Veteran U of M athletics beat writer Andy Greder answered those questions and more on the eve of the game in Lincoln with KWSN’s John Gaskins:
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