University of Minnesota Athletics
Men's Hockey
Motzko, Bob
Bob Motzko
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- motzk002@umn.edu
- Phone:
- 612-625-2886
Minnesota Record: 161-82-21 (7 seasons)
Career Record: 437-274-70 (20 seasons)
• 2023 Spencer Penrose Award winner
• Seven-time conference coach of the year
Bob Motzko begins his eighth season as head coach of the University of Minnesota men's hockey program in 2025-26. He's returned the Maroon and Gold back to national prominence with back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2021-22 and 2022-23, including a runner-up finish in 2023, three Big Ten Conference regular season titles over the past four years, and five-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
In his first seven years with the Gophers, Motzko has registered a 161-82-21 (.650) record. He enters his 21st year behind the bench as an NCAA head coach with a 437-274-70 all-time record, having previously spent 13 full years coaching at his alma mater St. Cloud State.
Motzko's squad made a fifth-consecutive postseason trip in 2024-25 when it played in the NCAA Fargo Regional following a share of the Big Ten Conference championship, the seventh title in 12 years of B1G hockey. It also was the fifth time in as many years that the Gophers won at least 23 games under his tutelage and the 32nd time winning at least 25 games in program history. Minnesota had seven players honored with postseason awards from the conference including Sam Rinzel, the B1G Defensive Player of the Year. Rinzel also landed ACHA/CCM Hockey First Team All-American recognition, while Jimmy Snuggerud was a Second Team All-American honoree.
In 2023-24, the Gophers reached the NCAA Sioux Falls Regional Final after battling to third in the league standings behind another 20-plus-win campaign. A league-best 10 different players representing the Maroon and Gold earned B1G postseason awards with Snuggerud headlining the group as a first team selection.
Thanks to a trip to the national championship game and a 29-10-1 overall record, he was named the 2023 Spencer Penrose Award winner, given annually to the AHCA/CCM Men's Hockey Division I Coach of the Year. He's the first Minnesota coach to earn the award since the legendary John Mariucci in 1953. Motzko also landed his third B1G Coach of the Year honor, and second straight, behind a record-breaking regular season with 19 B1G wins and 57 points, both of which are the most in league history. The Maroon and Gold also spent 12 weeks as the nation's top-ranked team in one of the two national polls and were the No. 1 overall seed at the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
For the second time in team history and first since 1954, the Gophers had three first-team All-American selections in a single season with Logan Cooley, Brock Faber and Matthew Knies earning the distinction in 2022-23. Meanwhile, both Cooley and Knies were named Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalists and were joined by Snuggerud as part of the highest-scoring line in college hockey, combining for 152 points. Faber and Knies also picked up major postseason awards from the B1G being chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively.
The previous year, it was B1G Player of the Year and Gophers' captain Ben Meyers that led a late-season charge as the team won the final eight games of the regular season for a conference title. Regional wins over UMass and Western Michigan earned Minnesota its first NCAA Frozen Four berth in eight years. Meyers was named a Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist and selected to the All-America First Team, while Faber earned B1G Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The 2020-21 season saw the Gophers claim the B1G Tournament title and make a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Minnesota started the year on a 10-game winning streak for the second time in program history and eventually earned a No. 1 national ranking in both polls for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. Minnesota was led by Mike Richter Award-winning goaltender Jack LaFontaine, one of three All-Americans, along with Sampo Ranta and Jackson LaCombe (all three also were First Team All-Big Ten selections).
In his first season behind the Minnesota bench in 2018-19, Motzko coached Rem Pitlick to First Team All-America and First Team All-Big Ten honors, while his second campaign with the Gophers saw him earn Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, although the season ended prematurely due to COVID-19.
A native of Austin, Minn., Motzko was an assistant coach at Minnesota from 2001 to 2005, a stretch where the Gophers captured back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. He worked with Hobey Baker Award winner Jordan Leopold, as well as six All-Americans, and was on the bench when the Maroon and Gold claimed back-to-back WCHA tournament titles in 2003 and 2004.
Following his four years assisting the Gophers, Motzko spent 13 seasons building St. Cloud State into a championship program. The Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times under his leadership, including a run to the Frozen Four in 2013. While at St. Cloud, Motzko helped develop Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc and eight All-Americans.
He previously coached at Miami (OH) and Denver, helping Miami win the CCHA title as associate head coach in 1993. He also served as an assistant under Herb Brooks at his alma mater for one season.
During his college head coaching career, Motzko has been recognized as a conference coach of the year seven times, winning the award twice in the WCHA (2006, 2007), twice in the NCHC (2014, 2018) and three times in the Big Ten (2020, 2022, 2023).
USA Hockey tasked Motzko with leading the U.S. National Junior Team twice at the IIHF World Junior Championships. In 2017, he led Team USA to an unbeaten run at the tournament, which culminated in a gold medal, the fourth all-time for the Americans. Motzko returned as head coach in 2018, leading the squad to a bronze medal, and will be behind the bench again in 2026 as USA hosts the event in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Twice he has led teams in the United States Hockey League (USHL) as head coach and general manager. He spent four years with the North Iowa Huskies, leading his 1989 team to the Junior A national championship, earning the league's coach of the year award. He also led Sioux Falls for the team's first two seasons of existence and was named the league's GM of the Year in 2000 for his work with the Stampede.
Motzko graduated from St. Cloud State in 1987 as a two-time men's hockey letter winner.
Career Record: 437-274-70 (20 seasons)
• 2023 Spencer Penrose Award winner
• Seven-time conference coach of the year
Bob Motzko begins his eighth season as head coach of the University of Minnesota men's hockey program in 2025-26. He's returned the Maroon and Gold back to national prominence with back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2021-22 and 2022-23, including a runner-up finish in 2023, three Big Ten Conference regular season titles over the past four years, and five-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
In his first seven years with the Gophers, Motzko has registered a 161-82-21 (.650) record. He enters his 21st year behind the bench as an NCAA head coach with a 437-274-70 all-time record, having previously spent 13 full years coaching at his alma mater St. Cloud State.
Motzko's squad made a fifth-consecutive postseason trip in 2024-25 when it played in the NCAA Fargo Regional following a share of the Big Ten Conference championship, the seventh title in 12 years of B1G hockey. It also was the fifth time in as many years that the Gophers won at least 23 games under his tutelage and the 32nd time winning at least 25 games in program history. Minnesota had seven players honored with postseason awards from the conference including Sam Rinzel, the B1G Defensive Player of the Year. Rinzel also landed ACHA/CCM Hockey First Team All-American recognition, while Jimmy Snuggerud was a Second Team All-American honoree.
In 2023-24, the Gophers reached the NCAA Sioux Falls Regional Final after battling to third in the league standings behind another 20-plus-win campaign. A league-best 10 different players representing the Maroon and Gold earned B1G postseason awards with Snuggerud headlining the group as a first team selection.
Thanks to a trip to the national championship game and a 29-10-1 overall record, he was named the 2023 Spencer Penrose Award winner, given annually to the AHCA/CCM Men's Hockey Division I Coach of the Year. He's the first Minnesota coach to earn the award since the legendary John Mariucci in 1953. Motzko also landed his third B1G Coach of the Year honor, and second straight, behind a record-breaking regular season with 19 B1G wins and 57 points, both of which are the most in league history. The Maroon and Gold also spent 12 weeks as the nation's top-ranked team in one of the two national polls and were the No. 1 overall seed at the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
For the second time in team history and first since 1954, the Gophers had three first-team All-American selections in a single season with Logan Cooley, Brock Faber and Matthew Knies earning the distinction in 2022-23. Meanwhile, both Cooley and Knies were named Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalists and were joined by Snuggerud as part of the highest-scoring line in college hockey, combining for 152 points. Faber and Knies also picked up major postseason awards from the B1G being chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively.
The previous year, it was B1G Player of the Year and Gophers' captain Ben Meyers that led a late-season charge as the team won the final eight games of the regular season for a conference title. Regional wins over UMass and Western Michigan earned Minnesota its first NCAA Frozen Four berth in eight years. Meyers was named a Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist and selected to the All-America First Team, while Faber earned B1G Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The 2020-21 season saw the Gophers claim the B1G Tournament title and make a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Minnesota started the year on a 10-game winning streak for the second time in program history and eventually earned a No. 1 national ranking in both polls for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. Minnesota was led by Mike Richter Award-winning goaltender Jack LaFontaine, one of three All-Americans, along with Sampo Ranta and Jackson LaCombe (all three also were First Team All-Big Ten selections).
In his first season behind the Minnesota bench in 2018-19, Motzko coached Rem Pitlick to First Team All-America and First Team All-Big Ten honors, while his second campaign with the Gophers saw him earn Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, although the season ended prematurely due to COVID-19.
A native of Austin, Minn., Motzko was an assistant coach at Minnesota from 2001 to 2005, a stretch where the Gophers captured back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. He worked with Hobey Baker Award winner Jordan Leopold, as well as six All-Americans, and was on the bench when the Maroon and Gold claimed back-to-back WCHA tournament titles in 2003 and 2004.
Following his four years assisting the Gophers, Motzko spent 13 seasons building St. Cloud State into a championship program. The Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times under his leadership, including a run to the Frozen Four in 2013. While at St. Cloud, Motzko helped develop Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc and eight All-Americans.
He previously coached at Miami (OH) and Denver, helping Miami win the CCHA title as associate head coach in 1993. He also served as an assistant under Herb Brooks at his alma mater for one season.
During his college head coaching career, Motzko has been recognized as a conference coach of the year seven times, winning the award twice in the WCHA (2006, 2007), twice in the NCHC (2014, 2018) and three times in the Big Ten (2020, 2022, 2023).
USA Hockey tasked Motzko with leading the U.S. National Junior Team twice at the IIHF World Junior Championships. In 2017, he led Team USA to an unbeaten run at the tournament, which culminated in a gold medal, the fourth all-time for the Americans. Motzko returned as head coach in 2018, leading the squad to a bronze medal, and will be behind the bench again in 2026 as USA hosts the event in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Twice he has led teams in the United States Hockey League (USHL) as head coach and general manager. He spent four years with the North Iowa Huskies, leading his 1989 team to the Junior A national championship, earning the league's coach of the year award. He also led Sioux Falls for the team's first two seasons of existence and was named the league's GM of the Year in 2000 for his work with the Stampede.
Motzko graduated from St. Cloud State in 1987 as a two-time men's hockey letter winner.
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