Goldy Gopher is the
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
for the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
and the associated sports teams, known as the
Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...
, as well as the 2011, 2013, 2017, and 2018 UCA Mascot National Champion. During the year, Goldy makes over 1000 appearances and is at virtually all home games for University teams, usually wearing the appropriate sporting attire. The mascot is based on the
thirteen-lined ground squirrel
The thirteen-lined ground squirrel (''Ictidomys tridecemlineatus''), also known as the striped gopher, leopard ground squirrel, squinney, (formerly known as the leopard-spermophile in the age of Audubon), is a ground squirrel that is widely dis ...
, colloquially referred to as a “gopher” in Minnesota.
Origins
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
became known as the "Gopher State" in 1857, the result of a political cartoon ridiculing the $5 million Railroad Loan which helped open up the West. The cartoon portrayed shifty railroad barons as
striped gophers pulling a railroad car carrying the Territorial Legislature toward the "Slough of Despond". The first U of M yearbook bearing the name "Gopher Annual" appeared in 1887.
Minnesota's athletic teams became widely known as the "Gophers" by the 1920s, but it was not until 1934 that
Halsey Hall, great Minnesota sportswriter and broadcaster, dubbed
Bernie Bierman
Bernard W. Bierman (March 11, 1894 – March 7, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces. Bierman was t ...
's all-gold uniformed team "The Golden Gophers". Bierman had chosen the gold color because the football blended in with the uniforms.
The embodiment of the Gopher mascot came to life in 1952 when University of Minnesota assistant bandmaster Jerome Glass bought a fuzzy wool gopher suit with a
papier-mâché
upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico
Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...
head and asked one of the band members to climb into it.
"Goldy" Gopher (the first name seems to have appeared sometime in the 1960s) became a fixture within the
University of Minnesota Marching Band
The University of Minnesota Marching Band (also known as UMMB, Minnesota Marching Band, and The Pride of Minnesota) is the marching band of the University of Minnesota and the flagship university band for the state of Minnesota. The Pride of Minne ...
and Pep Band, as each year a band member was chosen to don the suit for that season. Wherever these two bands performed, Goldy was there to glad-hand with the crowd, hug the little kids, torment the cheerleaders and generally add a friendly Minnesota flavor to the event.
During the early 1960s, Goldy was written into the football pre-game and halftime shows with a specific place to be. Limited visibility from within the suit made it difficult to see out, and any of the suit's wearers with glasses would fog up while trying to peer out the mouth hole, as the eyeholes were useless. One benefit during the cold games at
Memorial Stadium in November was that Goldy Gopher was one of the few fans that stayed warm.
Attitude and attire
![Goldy Gopher Volleyball](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Goldy_Gopher_Volleyball.jpg)
Each band member who was allowed the joy of being the Gopher developed an individual personality, a unique way of relating to the crowd. The mystique of Goldy Gopher became a tradition that absolutely prohibited removal of the head while in public, maintaining an illusion for the younger children that Goldy Gopher was a real live huggable animal.
From 1952 until 1990, the Gopher appearing at U of M sports events was a member of the Marching Band, and a symbiosis developed through the years that on more than one occasion kept Goldy out of trouble. With a propensity for attracting tail-pulling kids, Goldy relied on the band to save the gopher from their clutches. And when the opposing team's cheerleaders or band members managed to “kidnap” the unfortunate rodent (a
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
tradition), band members would come to the rescue.
In the late 1980s the U of M Athletic Department began to make use of Goldy at an ever-increasing number of events, and held University-wide tryouts to secure a number of students who could cover the busy schedule. The Athletic Department's Spirit Squad officially took charge of Goldy in 1992.
A signature move of Goldy's is head spinning, usually brought on by crowd chants of "Spin your head!", a tradition started at hockey games in the early 1990s. This is often followed by chants of "Spin your body!", and occasionally "Spin your tail!", with Goldy abiding and spinning the respective body parts. 1990s hockey games also sometimes featured Goldy sledding down the entirety of the
Mariucci Arena
3M Arena at Mariucci is the home arena for the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team of the University of Minnesota. The arena is located on the Minneapolis campus and seats approximately 10,000 fans (9,600 in the main bowl plus club room ...
staircase, nearly 30 rows. The tradition has been reigned in since then for safety concerns, but Goldy can still be found sledding and snowboarding from reduced heights.
The style of the gopher suit changed many times through the years, sometimes by chance, sometimes by design. Until the early 1970s, the head was narrow and pointy-nosed, reminiscent of the real animal. Then in 1972, Goldy suddenly grew chubby cheeks and a wider, forward-looking face, almost cherubic in appearance. The gopher of the 1970s and early 1980s was comparable in appearance to a teddy bear, a favorite of children and grandmothers. For a brief period in 1985, a fierce-looking “mega-rodent“ appeared, with a barrel chest, clown feet and sinister eyes. This look didn't last long, and Goldy soon again became a lovable, friendly character.
The students that portray Goldy maintain anonymity throughout their tenure. They are also recognized as student athletes due to their vigorous schedule and amount of work that goes into it.
They are considered a part of the "Spirit Squad" at the University of Minnesota, which encompasses the cheerleading and dance teams.
Logo
![Goldy Gopher University of Minnesota design](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Goldy_Gopher_University_of_Minnesota_design.jpg)
The first official logo was made in the 1940s by sports merchandiser George Grooms, featuring a smiling "gopher" wearing a hat with the letter M on it. Grooms, while driving to the University of Minnesota from Iowa, stopped at a rest stop and sketched what he thought were gophers. He presented the drawing to U of M bookstore manager Harold Smith, who loved it. After the image was put into production, did it become realized that the animal depicted in the picture was actually a chipmunk.
In the 1950s, Goldy's look became more animated. In the 1960s and 1970s, Goldy became more slim and simplistic, and was often drawn wearing the equipment of several of the University's sports. In 1979, the University hired Bill Stein to draw a new look for Goldy, which consisted of the mascot waving and wearing a shirt.
Some commented that this drawing of Goldy wasn't fierce enough as a college mascot,
and in 1985, a new version of Goldy was drawn by Steve Wanvig, who was asked by the University to make a more aggressive look. This variation of Goldy was a buff gopher with a fierce expression; depicted to be wearing a sweater and charging.
Students who preferred the old design formed a group called Save Our Wimp, who championed for the previous drawing's more mild design. Responding to the criticism, the University's athletics department asked Wanvig in 1986 to tone down Goldy, who was then drawn in the same style, but without huge muscles and with a friendlier expression. This version of Goldy has been the one used since.
National competitions
UCA Mascot National Championships
Goldy also competes in the UCA Mascot National Championships and regularly makes the top 3. Goldy’s first win was in 2011 and followed up with championships in 2013, 2017, and 2018.
Capital One
Goldy was nominated to and made the 2004, 2007, and 2010 Capital One All-American Mascot Team. In 2007 Goldy finished second to Zippy from the
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...
.
Goldy Gopher statue
Due to the contributions from students, faculty, family, alumni, and friends, the University of Minnesota's Student Union was able to fund the creation of an all bronze statue of Goldy the Gopher. This was a controversial issue for some in the university community because of the rising costs of tuition and the university's concurrent appeals to the state legislature for a tuition freeze. The goal of the statue, located in the front of Coffman Memorial Union, was to promote school spirit and start new traditions. The University of Minnesota Administration hopes the iconic symbol will help students interact with the spirit and new traditions involving Goldy the Gopher. The statue is tall and made of bronze granite. Next to the statue is a solid granite "M" that is 63 inches in width, 24 Inches in depth, and 48 inches in height (160 x 61 x 122 cm). It was sculpted by
Nicholas Legeros, who is a Minnesota graduate from the fine arts academy. He has sculpted many pieces for the Twin Cities Metro area. The total cost of the statue was $95,000 dollars.
On Monday, September 23, 2013, the Goldy statue was unveiled during the homecoming kickoff at noon - which happened to be Goldy Gopher's birthday. Governor
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to ...
declared this day Goldy Gopher Day to create a new tradition for the students.
Supposedly if someone was to rub Goldy's front teeth, it will bring them good luck.
References
External links
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{{Big Ten Mascots
Big Ten Conference mascots
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Fictional gophers
Fictional characters from Minnesota
Anthropomorphic rodents
Rodent mascots