The University of Minnesota Duluth and men's hockey head coach Scott Sandelin have agreed to a four-year contract extension that will keep him behind the Bulldog bench through the 2020-21 season.

"I would like to thank athletic director Josh Berlo and Chancellor Lendley Black for this opportunity and for the continued support of our men's hockey program," said Sandelin.  "I am excited to further my career as a Bulldog and look forward to working with a great staff and group of student athletes.  We will continue to work hard to sustain the great traditions of Bulldog men's hockey on and off the ice."

Sandelin concluded his 16th season with the Bulldogs this past Saturday night by directing UMD to its second straight appearance in the NCAA Northeast Regional title game after upsetting number one seed Providence College in overtime. The runnerup for the 2010-11 Spencer Penrose Award (American Hockey Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coach of the Year) and recipient of that honor in 2003-04, Sandelin has compiled a 287-277-75 overall record -- including a 165-117-38 mark since the 2008-09 opener. Besides capturing the school's first NCAA championship five years ago, his Bulldogs have won 20 or more games in five of the last eight seasons while advancing to six NCAA tournaments (2004, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2016), two Frozen Fours (2004 and 2011) and eight NCHC Frozen Faceoff/Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five playoff events. He has also helped produce a pair of Hobey Baker Memorial Award winners (Jack Connolly in 2011-12 and Junior Lessard in 2003-04), six different NCAA All-Americans and 19 All-NCHC/WCHA selections.  Sandelin has also seen 16 of his UMD pupils go on to play in the National Hockey League and one take part in the Winter Olympic Games (Justin Faulk for Team USA in 2014).

"This agreement maintains the exceptional leadership of Scott Sandelin for the Bulldog men's hockey program for the foreseeable future," said Berlo. "UMD men's hockey has been amongst the nation's elite in recent years and we are excited for our student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, season ticket holders, campus, and community to continue that tradition of excellence as a source of pride for Bulldog Country.

"In addition, Scott's affinity for the community and his commitment to academic success enables his program to be about more than winning hockey games.  The Bulldog men's hockey staff and student athletes live our "3 C's" mission of excellence in the classroom, community and competition. Concurrently, Scott's desire to remain a Bulldog provides great value to UMD as this agreement, while competitive, is modest compared with several of his peers.
 
"Scott has also played a key role in growing revenues and enhancing fundraising for Bulldog athletics, as we have set multiple attendance and revenue records in the last few years. These efforts have contributed significantly to strengthening our overall athletic program."

CLASSROOM
The UMD men's hockey program has attained a 3.00 grade point average or better in each of the past four seasons. That includes a semester-best mark 3.26 in the spring of 2015. The  Bulldog program has also been highly rated by the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate metric with perfect single-year scores of 1,000 in 2012-13 and 2013-14 with a multi-year rate of 980 (on a 1,000- point scale), keeping UMD in the top 33 percent of Division I men's hockey-playing institutions. This past winter, 13 Bulldogs earned NCHC All-Academic Team recognition with three of those securing a spot on the NCHC Scholar-Athlete Team for maintaining a 3.50 GPA or above.

COMMUNITY
During his 16-year tenure, Sandelin has made community engagement a top priority for his teams. The Bulldogs regularly volunteer at local elementary schools and hospitals, the Boys and Girls Club, area youth hockey organizations, and Duluth Area Special and Sled Hockey.  In addition, Sandelin recently started the tradition of holding an in-season outdoor practice at a community rink that is open to the public. Two of Sandelin's players have won or been a finalist for national community-service based honors during the past five years -- Jack Connolly (Lowe's Senior CLASS Award recipient in 2012) and Adam Krause (Hockey Humanitarian Award and Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalists in 2015).

COMPETITION
Sandelin is the only active NCHC head coach who has won a national championship at his current school. He also owns an impressive 10-5 record in NCAA Tournament play and has never lost a first-round game, getting to the regional finals on six occasions. This year, in fact, marked the first time Bulldog men's hockey team was invited to four NCAA Tournament appearances in a six-year stretch. Sandelin's philosophy in playing the best competition is evident in the fact that UMD ranked second nationally in regular season strength of schedule this winter after topping the country in that department the previous two years. Against UMD's No. 1 rival, the University of Minnesota, Sandelin is the only Bulldog coach to possess a .500 or better record and is 7-1-1 in his last nine meetings with the Gophers.