Minnesota players stunned over PJ Fleck’s mayo bath

Jan 3, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck receives the ceremonial mayo dump after his teams’ win over Virginia Tech Hokies at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Gophers picked up a 24-10 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2025 Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Friday night and head coach PJ Fleck wasted little time in continuing tradition.

In the minutes after his team’s big win, Fleck received the honor of being bathed in mayonnaise. The reaction from his players tells the story.

PJ Fleck gets the mayo bath and they got him GOOD pic.twitter.com/RcRgmH9tDQ

— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) January 4, 2025

“Oh my God,” a disgusted Anthony Smith could be seen saying.

Before being doused with five gallons of Duke’s mayo, a confident Fleck demanded a “double.” Even with his eyes burning and his eyebrows matted, the head coach did not relent.

“That’s advantage of being bald,” Fleck joked, via Gopher Illustrated. “I told our players, if they had fifteen tubs of those, I would have done all fifteen. It’s worth it to be a champion at the end of the year. It’s one of the great traditions of bowl games.”

Fleck not only lauded the tradition of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl but all other bowl games, openly hoping the NCAA keeps them around long-term.

“I hope one day we never, ever go away from bowl games. I think that’s what makes college football really, really special,” he said. “That’s what makes college football really special, and that’s what makes it really fun, and that’s what makes it different. I hope we never take those things away from our student athletes. The reward for the winning coach is unique, that’s for sure. Just really, really thankful for Duke’s Mayo.”

This is the sort of things that makes college football so much fun. Not just Fleck being completed covered in mayonnaise, but that he fully embraced it and understands the importance of tradition.