U of M Athletic Director Mark Coyle Receives Raise + Contract Extension, Pending Board Approval

Pending approval from the Board of Regents, University of Minnesota athletic director, Mark Coyle, is getting a raise and contract extension that will keep him in Dinkytown as the school’s AD through 2030.

Part of agenda for upcoming board of regents meetings, #Gophers AD Mark Coyle's contract to be extended by two years through June 2030, subject to University of Minnesota regents approval. @StarTribune

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) February 2, 2024

Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle gets raise + contract extension

The news was first broken by Marcus Fuller (Star Tribune), who also reports that along with two additional years, Coyle’s new deal calls for an annual raise of $324,000, bumping him up to $1.4 million per year.

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Coyle was first hired back in 2016, to stabilize the athletic program after shamed athletic director, Norwood Teague, was fired a couple of years prior (2014). Beth Goetz, now AD at Iowa, sat in as interim AD at the U of M for about one year in-between.

What does this mean for head coach PJ Fleck?

It’s important to remember that Mark Coyle hired PJ Fleck and the two are very close. Which begs to question, does Coyle’s extension mean the same thing is on the horizon for the Gophers head football coach too?

While I wouldn’t completely rule it out, though it’s worth noting that, following a 6-7 finish for the football team last season, Fleck isn’t in the type of stronghold negotiating spot that he likes be in, when contract talks usually kick up.

Related: Mark Coyle Leaves No Doubt: PJ Fleck is Not on Hot Seat

PJ extension or not, the new deal for Coyle makes clear that PJ will be sticking around too. Both Coyle and Fleck constantly rave about how much they love working together and they really are two peas in a pod, when it comes to their vision for an athletic department and how football fits into that vision.