Western Michigan AD Kathy Beauregard on Friday said that she has "not spoken with" former football coach P.J. Fleck, who was hired last week by Minnesota, about the status of the team's "Row the Boat" mantra yet, but noted that the university "owns the rights to it," according to Cory Olsen of MLIVE.com. Beauregard said, "We do own the licensing regarding Row the Boat, that was part of the discussion and commitment when he first came to the university. Those discussions were definitely with his agent, himself and also our university attorneys and our staff as to how we came about doing that and what we would do." Olsen noted the "Row the Boat" phrase came about "after Fleck and his first wife, Tracie, lost their son, Colt, shortly after birth due to a heart condition." Beauregard: "We knew that was really and honestly a very personal issue for coach Fleck when he started that and what that meant. However, I know there are some terms of the legal contracts that were put together that we haven't even begun to go through yet to see what that is" (MLIVE.com, 1/7). In Detroit, Tony Paul noted WMU has "put the 'Row the Boat' rallying cry, oars and all, on everything," including its "stadium entrance, key chains, flags, uniforms and program apparel" (DETROIT NEWS, 1/7).
