MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota fired coach Glen Mason on Sunday, two days after the Gophers blew a 31-point third quarter lead against Texas Tech and exactly one year after he was signed to a four-year contract extension.
Mason's Reign at Minnesota
Glen Mason is out as head coach at Minnesota, the university announced Sunday. Mason was 64-57 at Minnesota with just a 32-48 record in conference play, never finishing better than 5-3 in the Big Ten.
Season Overall Big Ten Bowl
1997 3-9 1-7 None
1998 5-6 2-6 None
1999 8-4 5-3 Sun
2000 6-6 4-4 Micron PC
2001 4-7 2-6 None
2002 8-5 3-5 Music City*
2003 10-3 5-3 Sun*
2004 7-5 3-5 Music City*
2005 7-5 4-4 Music City
2006 6-7 3-5 Insight
Totals 64-57 32-48 3-4
* -- Won bowl
Mason was 64-57 in 10 years at Minnesota and led the Gophers to seven bowl games. But he was just 3-4 in those games, with his latest loss proving to be the backbreaker despite the lengthy contract extension.
ESPN's Joe Schad first reported earlier Sunday that Mason had been fired.
The 44-41 loss in the Insight Bowl, the biggest comeback in bowl history, dropped the Gophers to 6-7 for the season, the first time the Gophers have finished under .500 in five years.
"If we had not lost the way we had lost, I don't think we'd be here today," athletic director Joel Maturi said.
Mason came to the Twin Cities from Kansas in 1997 and took over a Big Ten doormat that hadn't had a winning season in seven years.
He issued a statement that said he was given "no specific explanation" for his firing during a phone call from Maturi.
"Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed, however I respect the decision of my superiors, Mr. Joel Maturi and President Robert Bruininks," Mason said.
"If we had not lost the way we had lost [in the Insight Bowl], I don't think we'd be here today."
Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi
For the second time in just over a month, the university will be forced to buyout the contract of a coach of one of the school's big sports. Men's basketball coach Dan Monson was ousted on Nov. 30, just seven games into the season.
Mason was being paid $1.65 million annually and it will cost the university close to $4 million to buy him out.
The Gophers made several strides under Mason, emerging as one of the premier rushing offenses in the nation with stars such as Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney carrying the ball.
Mason coached the wrong side of two of the top four biggest blown leads in D-I bowl history, including Friday's Insight Bowl.
Minnesota beat Michigan in Ann Arbor for the first time in 20 years last season and also had big victories at Ohio State and at Penn State during his tenure.
The improvements helped the university gain approval for a new outdoor football stadium that will open in 2009 and finally get the Gophers out of the dingy Metrodome and back on campus.
But the Gophers never were able to build on that success and become a legitimate Big Ten contender, and fans grew weary of heartbreaking losses in big games.
Perhaps Mason's toughest loss came in October 2003, when the 6-0 Gophers hosted Michigan and led 28-7 in the second half. But the Wolverines stormed back to win 38-35, and the Gophers folded down the stretch.
Minnesota also blew a 24-0 lead in the 2000 Micronpc.com Bowl before losing to North Carolina State 38-30 and lost to Wisconsin last year when punter Justin Kucek dropped a snap in the end zone that the Badgers recovered for a touchdown in the final minutes.
And so Mason's legacy at Minnesota will be defined not by the improvements made on offense and in recruiting, but instead by missed opportunities and a 3-15 career record against Michigan and Wisconsin, two of the school's three biggest rivals.
"I felt we needed a new voice, a new vision and new leadership to bring a football championship to the University of Minnesota," Maturi said.
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