Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck is now free to continue rowing the boat with the Golden Gophers.
When Fleck left Western Michigan for Minnesota, he verbally took his “row the boat” mantra with him, but his former school still owned the rights to the phrase. Fleck rectified that by striking a deal with the university, which will see him donate at least $50,000 over the next five or more years to the Western Michigan athletics program. In return, Fleck’s “row the boat” phrase is now official property of his agent, and by extension his.
“We really wanted to come out with a win-win regarding the Row the Boat mantra,” Western Michigan athletic director Kathy Beauregard said, via Cory Olsen of MLive. “That has been completed. There are no restrictions on us still being able to use it, so when we talk about using it in conjunction with our historical season, bringing the community together, the rally cry behind it, the story behind it is always going to be there. And we definitely will celebrate it as we celebrate what we’ve gone through during coach Fleck’s tenure.”
Fleck had already been using the motto in all sorts of ways since joining the Golden Gophers. Now he officially owns it with his former school’s consent.
