Big Ten Media Days are ongoing in Indianapolis, and the league already is dealing with the controversy surrounding Northwestern's program, a hazing scandal and its firing of coach Pat Fitzgerald.
On the heels of a Front Office Sports report Wednesday, the Big Ten is seeing another of its programs facing new scrutiny for allegations of the culture in P.J.. Fleck's Minnesota Golden Gophers program.
Fleck, now, is firing back in defense of his program.
"These allegations are baseless," Fleck said inside Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the NFL's Colts and host site of the conference's two-day media bonanza.
A central focus of the FOS report Wednesday was Fleck's purported use of the "Fleck Bank," for which if players had "enough coins" that could allegedly escape repercussions for violations of rules.
"There were no coins exchanged," said Fleck, who said the "bank" wasn't a literal item but rather a metaphor used that helped assess player accountability.
Fleck said Minnesota as an entire athletics department no longer uses grueling physical conditioning components as punishments for violations of team rules, missed classes, etc; he also said that student-athletes have six avenues to lodge complaints or report concerns.
"This is similar story that gets peddled every single year by majority of players who have been dismissed from our program," Fleck said, who noted he believed there to be zero complaints or claims of abuse through the institution's myriad reporting mechanisms.
Fleck, who's signed through 2029 atop the Golden Gophers program after a late-2022 extension, kicks off his seventh season atop the program at home Aug. 31 against visiting Nebraska and its first-year head coach, Matt Rhule.