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Fleck working to bring 'Row the Boat' to Minnesota

Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports

From players to coaches, P.J. Fleck has already brought a lot from Western Michigan to Minnesota, and it appears as if he may not be done yet.

The new Golden Gophers head coach is working to get the rights to the mantra he developed at Western Michigan "Row the Boat" and bring it along to Minnesota.

"We're working on it," Fleck said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Sam Khan Jr. "There's just some things to go through, and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to bring it with me."

The phrase was trademarked by Western Michigan trustees, but, because the phrase is so personal and was developed by Fleck after the loss of his second son to a heart condition, he believes they may be able to reach an agreement.

"When we first put it out there, you had to be able to have a trademark and licensing, I think it was with the university, or you can't sell it as a university logo through the NCAA rules," Fleck said. "So they basically own those rights to it, and that was something that I gave them the ability to do, because I never saw a dollar from it, never saw a cent from it, but we were able to create some type of culture.

"Again, it comes from a very personal, personal tragedy in my life and that's where 'Row the Boat' came from. ... So, I really hope they do see that, and they are willing to allow me to take that, but we'll see as we move forward. I'm not sure what they're going to do with it, but I really hope because of what it means, that I have the ability to at least purchase it, take it with me, and continue to change other people's lives through tragedy, through adversity, in just a different area."

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