P.J. Fleck reacts to postgame mayo bath: 'I hope we never go away from bowl games'

The Minnesota Gophers are 2025 Duke's Mayo Bowl champions.

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 / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

It wasn't the Rose Bowl or Sugar Bowl, but the Gophers took down Virginia Tech on Friday night, giving them a victory in the 2025 Duke's Mayo Bowl, which meant head coach P.J. Fleck received a celebratory postgame mayo bath. The Duke's Mayo Bowl has become one of the most viral bowl games of the postseason slate and Minnesota leaned into all of the fun.

Following the 2019 bowl season, Duke's mayonnaise replaced Belk as the presenting sponsor to create the Duke's Mayo Bowl. Following the inaugural game in 2020, the winning coach has been doused in mayo instead of the traditional Gatorade to celebrate the victory in the four seasons since. Fleck joined in the fun on Friday night.

"I thought it would slide right off. It did not, it stayed. That was a very unique experience," Fleck said after the game. "I told our players, if they had 15 dumps of those, I would've done all 15. It's worth it to be a champion at the end of the year. It's one of the great traditions of bowl games."

In the first season of the new 12-team College Football Playoff, bowl games like this have never meant less to some fans. Fleck and the Gophers have fully leaned into the fun and he realizes how much importance it holds as a springboard for the team heading into the following season.

"I hope one day we never, ever go away from bowl games," Fleck continued. "That's what makes college football really, really special. Not everybody is going to the college football playoff. Not everybody is doing that. If you can leave opportunities for young people to be champions at the end of the year and that springboards their season into the following year and all of the traditions and quirks... that's what makes college football special. That's what makes it really fun and that's what makes it different."

College football is a sport that was built on tradition and the celebratory mayo bath has become one of the most unique traditions in all of sports. A bowl game between a 7-5 team and a 6-6 team was never meant to be life or death, it was meant to be a celebration of the regular season. Fleck and his staff have figured that out and it has resulted in a perfect 5-0 record.

NFL Draft opt-outs and the transfer portal have made many casual college football fans think bowl games are meaningless. On the surface, there might be a short-term argument to be made, but sports are meant to be fun and the 2025 Duke's Mayo Bowl was a fun experience for everyone involved.

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