Dean Blais has accepted a five-year contract to continue at North Dakota, the university announced Wednesday.
The contract, part of which will be paid through private donations made to the UND Foundation, includes $115,000 each year, use of a car, a membership in the Grand Forks Country Club, and a deferred $500,000 annuity.
“We have been extremely pleased and impressed with Dean’s leadership of our hockey program and his outstanding service to the University of North Dakota and the Grand Forks community,” said UND president Kendall Baker. Blais’ signing also removes him from the candidate pool for the vacant Minnesota coaching job.
In five years at UND, Blais, 48, has posted a 130-60-10 (.675) record, including three straight WCHA regular-season titles and the 1997 NCAA championship. Blais was named WCHA Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1999, and won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year in 1997.
Blais was hired May 21, 1994, becoming the Fighting Sioux’ 14th head coach. At the time, Blais was athletic director and head hockey coach at International Falls (Minn.) High School. He previously had served as an assistant coach at both Minnesota and North Dakota, including two NCAA title runs at UND.
Blais played four seasons at Minnesota, and then for the U.S. National Team in 1973 before a three-year minor-league career. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Minnesota in 1977 and his master’s degree in education from North Dakota in 1982.
