Gophers extend men’s hockey coach Bob Motzko

The University of Minnesota men’s hockey team is keeping its program head in place for at least a couple more years.

Wednesday, the team announced that head coach Bob Motzko signed a two-year extension that sets him up to remain with the Gophers through the 2027-28 season.

“I am grateful to Mark Coyle and the rest of the Athletics administration for believing in me and our staff and our leadership of Gopher Hockey,” Motzko said in a prepared statement. “It has been exciting to be a part of our success and I am so appreciative of the incredible support we receive from our alumni, our students and all our fans. We have a tremendous staff and group of young men on this team, and I look forward to continuing to compete for championships with them.”

“Bob has been a tremendous leader of our men’s hockey program,” U of M Director of Athletics Mark Coyle said. “His ability to build a culture of success with our staff and student-athletes has led to achievements on the ice and for our team academically and socially. I am thrilled to have Bob continue to lead our men’s hockey program into the future.”

Since Motzko took over the program ahead of the 2018-19 season, the Gophers have gone 119-64-14, making back-to-back trips to the NCAA Frozen Four and notching three consecutive seasons with at least 24 wins. The team has been ranked in the top five of the national polls for at least one week in five of his six seasons.

Additionally, the program’s work off the ice has thrived under Motzko. A total of 29 student-athletes have earned a degree since 2018 and the program has recorded nine of its top 10 cumulative semester grade point averages during his tenure, including the highest spring mark ever at 3.22 this year.

Motzko was named the 2023 Spencer Penrose Coach of the Year and also earned the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year award three times in the past four seasons.