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Gophers AD Addresses Board Of Regents Following Rash Of Controversies

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- One week after the academic fate of 10 Gopher football players was decided, the U's Athletic Director Mark Coyle addressed the Board of Regents Friday.

Last Friday, four players were expelled, two were suspended for a year and four were cleared by a student panel after they were implicated in a sexual assault case involving a female student.

This wasn't the only issue that has impacted the Athletic Department in recent years.

Last October, four wrestlers were suspended after allegations of drug sale and use were reported to the university.

Friday morning, Coyle addressed those controversies and looked to the future, saying that he wants to change the culture surrounding athletics at the U.

In a presentation called "Intercollegiate Athletics and Developing the Whole Person," Coyle told the Board of Regents he wants to eliminate the gap between what they say and what they do in the Athletics Department.

From now on, student athletes will have to take four hours of sexual assault, harassment, code of conduct, hazing and academic dishonesty training per year. Freshman student athletes will also be required to live in residence halls on campus.

Dean Johnson underscored the importance of change after those recent controversies.

"I told you, Director Coyle, what my New Year's Resolution was," Johnson said. "It's still there. My New Year's Resolution is the department of athletics at the University of Minnesota does not appear in the front page or on a TV screen for 12 months, unless we won a championship."

Coyle also wants to educate student athletes on the difference between athletic, EOAA and criminal proceedings, because he said there was a lot of confusion that came from the differences between all of those things during the Gopher football scandal.

The Board of Regents Friday also approved P.J. Fleck's 5-year contract worth $18 million. The contract also has a new clause, which will be included in all of the head coach contracts from now on at the U, saying coaches need to help their student athletes develop their character.

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