Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck during a Big Ten conference football game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 16, 2019, at Kinnick Stadium, Iowa. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS - University of Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck spoke publicly on Tuesday for the first time since the Coronavirus pandemic shut down sports across the world. That includes spring football for the Gophers.
Fleck and the Gophers got one week of workouts in, including one practice open to the public and media. They were slated to have open practices today and on March 31 ahead of the April 4 Spring Game at TCF Bank Stadium, but everything has been canceled due to concerns with Covid-19.
Fleck said Tuesday on KFAN Radio he’s not sure if they’ll get spring football back this year. The Centers for Disease Control said Sunday that it’s not recommending public gatherings of 50 people or more for at least eight weeks. At the earliest, which is not optimistic, sports would start returning in the middle of May.
“This is a real threat that I think we’re going through and one thing I tell our team is to take it seriously,” Fleck told KFAN, the Gophers radio partner.
Fleck added, “We don’t know if we’re going to get spring ball back or not, and we’re not really worried about that right now. This isn’t about us, this is about how you can take care of the world, which is what teamwork is all about.”
It's the second straight year the Spring Game has had to be altered. Last year, a spring snow and ice storm in the week leading up to the game forced Fleck and the Gophers to hold it at their indoor complex at Athletes Village. It was open only to media, families of players and recruits.
Fleck said with the current Coronavirus situation, his coaching staff is working from home and his training staff has given players workouts they can do at home. They’re also working on ways to hold team meetings via video conferencing, and doing whatever they can to keep in touch with recruits.
No players are on campus, as the University of Minnesota has switched to online coursework since returning from Spring Break in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19. Athletic Director Mark Coyle said last week the Big Ten is canceling all competition for the remainder of the academic year, and recruiting is suspended.
Fleck also has international players on the roster that he has to monitor moving forward, and at least two football players were studying abroad before Covid-19 became a major concern across the U.S.
Fleck and the Gophers are coming off winning 11 games for the first time in 115 years, winning seven Big Ten games for the first time ever and beating Auburn in the Outback Bowl. The 2020 season could have an entire different outlook, depending on how Covid-19 affects the college football landscape moving forward.