The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the 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 competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Gophers women's ice hockey team is a six-time

NCAA champion The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

and seven-time national champion. In women's ice hockey, the Gophers belong to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. In all other sports, they belong to the Big Ten Conference. Most of the facilities that the teams use for training and competitive play are located on the East Bank of the Minneapolis campus. There are arenas for men's and women's basketball ( Williams Arena) as well as ice hockey ( Mariucci Arena and Ridder Arena). The Gopher football team began playing at TCF Bank Stadium in September 2009. The women's soccer team plays on the St. Paul campus in the Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. The Cheerleaders and the Dance Team are also part of the university's athletic department; they are present at events for basketball, ice hockey, and football, and compete for UCA/UDA national titles in the winter. The University of Minnesota spirit squad was the first as sideline cheerleading was invented at the U of M, and it prides itself in being one of the largest spirit squads in the country. The U of M spirit squad currently consists of three cheerleading teams (all girl, coed, and small coed), a dance team,

Goldy Gopher Goldy Gopher is the mascot for the University of Minnesota and the associated sports teams, known as the Golden Gophers, as well as the 2011, 2013, 2017, and 2018 UCA Mascot National Champion. During the year, Goldy makes over 1000 appearances and ...

, and a unique ice hockey cheerleading team. The dance team won its 19th national title in 2019. During the 2006–07 academic year, the Golden Gophers wrestling team won the NCAA national championship and the Big Ten team title. The Golden Gophers also won conference championships in men's ice hockey, men's golf, women's rowing, men's swimming and diving, and women's indoor track and field.

Sports sponsored

Baseball

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, i ...

(3): :

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

*NCAA Tournament Appearances (32): :1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018 *Big Ten Regular Season Championships (24): :1933, 1935, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2018 * Big Ten Conference Tournament Championships (9): :1982, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2018

Men's basketball

* Big Ten Regular Season Championships (8): :1906, 1907, 1911, 1917, 1919, 1937, 1972, 1982 *NCAA Tournament Appearances (10): :

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

*Sweet 16 Appearances (3): :

*Elite Eight Appearances (1): :

* NIT Appearances (12): :1973, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2014 *NIT Championships (2): :1993, 2014 ''Note: A 1997 Big Ten regular season championship, NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994, 1995, 1997 (Final Four), and 1999, as well as NIT appearances in 1996 and 1998 (Championship) were vacated due to NCAA sanctions.''

Women's basketball

*NCAA Tournament Appearances (10): :1994, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2018 *Sweet 16 Appearances (3): :2003, 2004, 2005 *Elite Eight Appearances (1): :2004 *Final Four Appearances (1): :2004

Men's cross country

*Big Ten Team Championships (4): :1909, 1914, 1964, 1969

Women's cross country

*Big Ten Team Championships (2): :2007, 2008

Football

(7): :1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960 * Big Ten Conference Championships (18): :1900, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1927, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1960, 1967 * Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest Championships (2): :1892, 1893 *Bowl Games (20): :Citrus Bowl –

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

:Hall of Fame Classic –

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

:Holiday Bowl –

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

:Independence Bowl –

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

:Insight Bowl –

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

:Liberty Bowl –

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

:MicronPC.com Bowl –

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

:Music City Bowl –

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

:Outback Bowl –

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

:Quick Lane Bowl –

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

:Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas –

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

:Rose Bowl –

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

:Sun Bowl –

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

:Texas Bowl –

* Bowl game victories: 1962 Rose Bowl, 1985 Independence Bowl, 2002 Music City Bowl, 2003 Sun Bowl, 2004 Music City Bowl, 2015 Quick Lane Bowl, 2016 Holiday Bowl, 2018 Quick Lane Bowl, 2020 Outback Bowl

Traveling trophies

*The Little Brown Jug – Accidentally left in Minnesota back in

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

by Michigan coach

Fielding H. Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American football player, coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

, it is painted with the victories of the two teams. * Floyd of Rosedale – Since

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

the Gophers and the Iowa

Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

have fought to win this

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

pig. The Gophers won the 2010 and 2011 match up for the pig, upsetting the favored Hawkeyes at TCF Bank Stadium. * Paul Bunyan's Axe – Minnesota and the Wisconsin Badgers have passed this trophy back and forth since

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, although it records the two teams' encounters since

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

. * Governor's Victory Bell – The bell was created to commemorate the

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

entrance of

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

's Nittany Lions into the Big Ten. * $5-Bits-O-Broken-Chair Trophy – The newest of the five trophies. From a 2014 exchange on Twitter,

created a trophy with a parody account of the then coach of Nebraska

Bo Pelini Mark Anthony "Bo" Pelini (born December 13, 1967) is a former American football coach and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He is the younger brother of forme ...

Golf

Men's golf *

(1): :2002 *Individual National Champions (2): :1944 – Louis Lick :1998 – James McLean *Big Ten Team Championships (8): :1929, 1938, 1963, 1972, 2002, 2003, 2007 (co-champions), 2014 Women's golf *Big Ten Team Championships (1): :1989

Gymnastics

Men's gymnastics *Big Ten Team Championships (21): :1903, 1907, 1910, 1925, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995

Women's gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymn ...

*Big Ten Team Championships (5): :1988, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2006

Men's ice hockey

(2 pre-NCAA, 5 NCAA): :1929, 1940, 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003 * WCHA Regular Season Championships (14): :1953, 1954, 1970, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013 * Big Ten Regular Season Championships (4): :2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 * Big Ten Tournament Championships (2): :2015, 2021 * WCHA Tournament Championships (14): :1961, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007 *NCAA Frozen Four Appearances (21): :

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, 1961, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1983,

, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 2002,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Women's ice hockey

(7): :2000 (AWCHA), 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 *WCHA Regular Season Championships (8): :2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 *WCHA Tournament Championships (7): :2002, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 *NCAA Frozen Four Appearances (15): :2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

Women's rowing

*Big Ten Championships (1): :2007 *NCAA Champions in V2 :2007

Women's soccer

*Big Ten Championships (4): :1995, 1997, 2008, 2016

Softball

*Big Ten Regular Season Championships (4): :1986, 1988, 1991, 2017 *Big Ten Tournament Championships (5): :1999, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 * Women's College World Series appearances (3): :1976, 1978, 2019

Spirit Squads

Dance Team *National Championships (13): :2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019

Swimming

Men's swimming *Big Ten Team Championships (9): :1922, 1926, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 Women's swimming *Big Ten Team Championships (7): :1999, 2000, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Men's tennis

*Big Ten Team Championships (15): :1910, 1911, 1912, 1918, 1932, 1933, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2015

Men's track

Outdoor track and field *

(1): :1948 *Big Ten Team Championships (6): :1949, 1968, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2009, 2010 Indoor track and field *Big Ten Team Championships (4): :1998, 2009, 2010, 2011

Women's track

Outdoor track and field *Big Ten Team Championships (3): :2006, 2016, 2018 Indoor track and field *Big Ten Team Championships (4): :2007, 2008, 2009, 2018

Volleyball

* Big Ten Championships (3): :2002, 2015, 2018 *NCAA Tournament Appearances (21): :

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

*Sweet 16 Appearances (16): :1989, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 *Final Four Appearances (5): :2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016

Wrestling

(3): :2001, 2002, 2007 *Big Ten Team Championships (12): :1910, 1912, 1913, 1941, 1957, 1959, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007

Notable non varsity sports

Rugby

Minnesota rugby plays Division I college rugby in the

Big Ten Universities Big Ten Universities is a Division 1-A Rugby, Division 1-A college rugby conference founded in summer 2012 by ten of the twelve schools that then made up the Big Ten Conference (which has since 2010–13 Big Ten Conference realignment#Maryland, ex ...

conference against traditional Big Ten rivals such as Wisconsin and Iowa. Minnesota qualified for the national playoffs in 2008, and finished the 2008 season ranked 7th in the nation. Some of Minnesota's games have been well attended by fans, with the team drawing as many as 6,000 fans to watch the team play at TCF Bank Stadium.

Traditions

The "Golden" Gophers

The University Mascot is derived from a nickname for the state of Minnesota, "The Gopher State." The original design was based on the thirteen-lined ground squirrel. The state nickname derives from a political cartoon by R. O. Sweeny, published as a broadside in 1858. The cartoon depicted state legislators as gophers dragging the state in the wrong direction. The nickname was associated with the university as early as the publication of the first yearbook in 1888, which was titled "The Gopher". Other early yearbooks included depictions of gophers as well, and the University of Minnesota football coach

Clarence Spears Clarence Wiley "Doc" Spears (July 24, 1894 – February 1, 1964) was an American football player, coach, and doctor. He was an All-American guard at Dartmouth College (1914–1915) and served as the head football coach at Dartmouth (1917–1920), ...

officially named the football team the Gophers in 1926. After the radio announcer

Halsey Hall Halsey Lewis Hall (May 23, 1898 – December 30, 1977) was a sports reporter and announcer in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area from 1919 until the 1970s. Early life Halsey Lewis Hall was born in New York City's Greenwich Village on May 23, 1898 ...

began referring to the team as the Golden Gophers due to the color of their uniforms, the team was renamed under coach Bernie Bierman.

School songs

School songs for the university include Minnesota Rouser, Minnesota March, Go Gopher Victory,

Our Minnesota "Our Minnesota" was one of two winners of a 1925 contest to find an additional fight song for the University of Minnesota. Despite the popularity of the Minnesota Rouser, the Minnesota Union offered a hundred-dollar prize for the best college mus ...

, Minnesota Fight, Hail! Minnesota, and the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Notable athletes and coaches

Baseball

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

* Harry Elliott * Brent Gates *

Jack Hannahan John Joseph "The Bangladesh Hammer" Hannahan IV (born March 4, 1980) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Ind ...

* Mark Merila * Paul Molitor * Denny Neagle * Greg Olson * Glen Perkins * Robb Quinlan * Dick Siebert – coach * Terry Steinbach * Dave Winfield (also played basketball at Minnesota) * Dan Wilson

Basketball

Men's

* Ron Behagen – Former National Basketball Association (NBA) player * Walter Bond – Former NBA player, and motivational speaker * Randy Breuer – Former NBA player * Jim Brewer (basketball) – Former NBA player * Willie Burton – Former NBA player * Archie Clark – Former NBA player * Louis 'Doc' Cooke, coach (1897–1924) * Bud Grant – Former NBA player, National Football League (NFL) player and longtime

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

head coach of the Minnesota Vikings * Clem Haskins – coach * Lou Hudson – Former NBA player * Kris Humphries – NBA player * Sam Jacobson – Former NBA player *

Bobby Jackson Bobby Jackson (born March 13, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as the head coach of the Stockton Kings in the NBA G League, the development affiliate of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketb ...

– NBA player * Mark Landsberger – Former NBA player * Voshon Lenard – Former NBA player * Kevin McHale –

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

r and former President of Basketball Operations/head coach of the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

Mark Olberding Mark Allen Olberding (born April 21, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player born in Melrose, Minnesota. A 6'8" forward from the University of Minnesota, Olberding played 12 seasons (1975–1987) in the American Basketba ...

– Former NBA player * Joel Przybilla – Former NBA player * Flip Saunders – Former NBA head coach * Tubby Smith – Former head coach *

John Thomas John Thomas may refer to: Politics United Kingdom * John Thomas (c. 1490–1540/42), British Member of Parliament for Truro * John Thomas (c. 1531–1581/90), British Member of Parliament for Mitchell * John Thomas (British politician) (1897 ...

– Former NBA player * Mychal Thompson – Former NBA player * Trent Tucker – Former NBA player * Ray Williams (basketball) – Former NBA player *

Trevor Winter Trevor Winter (born January 7, 1974, in Slayton, Minnesota) is am American former professional basketball player who played briefly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 7'0" center from the University of Minnesota played just one ga ...

Women's

* Janel McCarville – Former WNBA player for the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

, and Charlotte Sting *

Lindsay Whalen Lindsay Marie Whalen (born May 9, 1982) is the head coach of the University of Minnesota's women's basketball team. She began her professional career as a point guard for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) ...

–

r, current Gopher's Women's Basketball Head Coach, and former WNBA player for the

and Connecticut Sun *

Linda Hill-MacDonald Linda Hill-MacDonald (born August 21, 1948) is an American former women's basketball coach. Career She was head coach at Fredonia from 2013 to 2018 and at the University at Buffalo from 2005 to 2012. She was also head coach at Temple University, ...

– Former head coach *

Rachel Banham Rachel Banham (born July 15, 1993, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American former professional basketball player. Banham played guard for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team, where she set a number of team records. Banham was dr ...

- WNBA Player for the

* Amanda Zahui B - WNBA Player for the Los Angeles Sparks

Football

Players

Asad Abdul-Khaliq Asad Tajmmal Abdul-Khaliq (born August 4, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team from 2000 to 2003. The Gophers went 10-3 during his senior year in 2003 with ...

– Quarterback,

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,20 ...

Dominique Barber Dominique J. Barber (born August 2, 1986) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minnesota. He is the son of former NFL running back Mar ...

– Safety,

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Marion Barber Jr. Marion Sylvester Barber Jr. (born December 6, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) from 1982 to 1988. He played college football for the M ...

– Former National Football League (NFL) running back *

Marion Barber III Marion Sylvester Barber III (June 10, 1983 – June 1, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Minnesota Golden ...

– Running back,

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Bert Baston Albert Preston Baston (December 3, 1894 – November 16, 1979) was an American football player for the University of Minnesota, where he was an All-American and one of the first great catchers of the forward pass. He was awarded the Navy Cross fo ...

– All-American, elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1954. Awarded Navy Cross in World War I for extraordinary heroism. * Bobby Bell – Pro Football Hall of Famer * Phil Bengtson – Former NFL head coach * Bernie Bierman – Member of the

McKinley Boston McKinley Boston Jr. (born November 5, 1945) is an American university administrator who most recently was athletic director at New Mexico State University. He was named athletics director on December 14, 2004 and retired effective December 31, 201 ...

– Former NFL Defensive end/Linebacker *

Jack Brewer Jack Brewer (born January 8, 1979) is a former American football safety who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Arizona Cardinals. He atten ...

– Safety,

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

* Win Brockmeyer – Former high school football head coach * Tom Brown- 1960 Outland Trophy winner, member of the

Gino Cappelletti Gino Raymond Michael Cappelletti (March 26, 1934 – May 12, 2022) was an American professional football player. He played college football at University of Minnesota and was an All-Star in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston ...

– Former

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) Wide receiver/

Placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

, AFL all-time leading scorer * Tyrone Carter –

Defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, 1999 Jim Thorpe Award winner * Tony Dungy – Former NFL safety for

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, former head coach of the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

& first African-American head coach to win a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

championship (

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

) *Mark Dusbabek – Former NFL Linebacker *

Carl Eller Carl Eller (born January 25, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and played college football ...

– Pro Football Hall of Famer * Greg Eslinger – Center, Denver Broncos, 2005 Outland Trophy and Rimington Trophy winner * George Gibson – Former NFL offensive guard and head coach * Paul Giel – Member of the

; also was Minnesota's athletic director from 1972 to 1988 and played Major League Baseball * Bud Grant – Pro Football Hall of Famer &

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

* Ben Hamilton – Offensive guard, Denver Broncos *Ed Hawthorne –

Defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

, Miami Dolphins * Mike Hohensee – Head coach,

* Herb Joesting – Member of the

* Rhys Lloyd – Kicker, Carolina Panthers * Bob McNamara – Former Running Back, Winnipeg Blue Bombers & Denver Broncos * John McGovern,

, quarterback * Laurence Maroney – Running back, Denver Broncos * Bobby Marshall – One of the first two African-Americans to play in the NFL, member of the

Karl Mecklenburg Karl Bernard Mecklenburg (born September 1, 1960), nicknamed "the Albino Rhino", is a former football linebacker for the Denver Broncos in the National Football League (NFL). National Football League In 1983, the Denver Broncos drafted Karl Mec ...

– Former NFL linebacker * Willie Middlebrooks –

, Toronto Argonauts * Bronko Nagurski – Pro Football Hall of Famer (charter member), member of the

* Leo Nomellini – Pro Football Hall of Famer * Derek Rackley – Tight end,

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

* Darrell Reid –

Defensive Tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

* Karon Riley – Defensive end, Washington Redskins * Charlie Sanders – tight end, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame * Cory Sauter – Former NFL quarterback * Jeff Schuh – Retired Linebacker * Mark Setterstrom – Offensive guard, St. Louis Rams * Bruce Smith – 1941

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner, member of the

* Sandy Stephens – First African-American major-college All-American quarterback *

Thomas Tapeh Thomas Teah Tapeh (pronounced ''TUH-PEH'') (born March 28, 1980 in Monrovia, Liberia) is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minne ...

– Former NFL fullback *

Ryan Thelwell Ryan Thelwell (born April 6, 1973) is a Jamaican-Canadian former professional wide receiver of American football and Canadian football. Thelwell was originally drafted 9th overall by the Lions in the 1998 CFL Draft and by the San Francisco 49ers ...

– Wide Receiver, BC Lions * Darrell Thompson – Former NFL running back * Rick Upchurch – Former NFL wide receiver * Ben Utecht – Tight end, Tennessee Titans *

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

– Member of the

* Jeff Wright – Former Minnesota Vikings Defensive back * Eric Decker – Denver Broncos *

Marcus Sherels Marcus John Sherels (born September 30, 1987) is a former American football cornerback and return specialist. He played college football at Minnesota Golden Gophers football, Minnesota, and was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent i ...

– Minnesota Vikings Cornerback/Punt Returner *

Simoni Lawrence Simoni Lawrence (born February 1, 1989) is an American-born Canadian football linebacker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Minnesota. Professional career St. Louis Rams Lawrence was ...

– Minnesota Vikings linebacker

Coaches

* Bernie Bierman * Tim Brewster * Fritz Crisler * Pudge Heffelfinger * Wesley Fesler * George Hauser *

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

* Jerry Kill * Glen Mason * William H. Spaulding *

* Jim Wacker * Murray Warmath *

Henry L. Williams Henry Lane Williams (July 26, 1869 – June 14, 1931) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Military Academy in 1891 and the University of Minnesota from 1900 to 1921, compiling a care ...

Golf

* Tom Lehman *James McLean

Gymnastics

Newt Loken Newton C. Loken (February 27, 1919 – June 28, 2011) was an artistic gymnast and coach of gymnastics, trampolining and cheerleading. While a member of the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's gymnastics team, Loken was NCAA all-around gymnastics ch ...

* Marie Roethlisberger * John Roethlisberger

Hockey

Men's

* Wendell Anderson * Keith Ballard * Kellen Briggs * Herb Brooks * Aaron Broten * Neal Broten *

Kris Chucko Kristopher J. Chucko (born March 13, 1986) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played two National Hockey League (NHL) games for the Calgary Flames. He was a first round selection, 24th overall, of the Flames in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft an ...

Ben Clymer Ben Andrew Clymer (born April 11, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals. He also played college hockey at the University of Min ...

Mike Crowley Michael Ryan Crowley (born July 4, 1975 in Bloomington, Minnesota), is a retired American professional ice hockey player. He played parts of three seasons in the National Hockey League with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim between 1997 and 2001, as w ...

* Alex Goligoski * Tim Harrer *

Steve Janaszak Steven James Janaszak (born January 7, 1957) is an American former ice hockey goaltender who played three games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars and Colorado Rockies between 1980 and 1982. Amateur career Janasz ...

* Bob Johnson * Phil Kessel *

Trent Klatt Trent Thomas Klatt (born January 30, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, ...

* Reed Larson * Nick Leddy * Jordan Leopold * Don Lucia * John Mariucci * Paul Martin * John Mayasich * Joe Micheletti *

Pat Micheletti Patrick John Micheletti (born December 11, 1963) is an American former ice hockey center who played 12 games in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars during the 1987–88 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1986 ...

* Lou Nanne * Ryan Potulny * Johnny Pohl * Robb Stauber *

Jeff Taffe Jeffrey Charles Taffe (born February 19, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey center. Taffe was drafted in the first round, 30th overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career After playing three seaso ...

* Thomas Vanek * Phil Verchota *

Blake Wheeler Blake James Wheeler (born August 31, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, fifth overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Dra ...

* Doug Woog

Women's

* Winny Brodt * Natalie Darwitz *

Courtney Kennedy Courtney Kennedy (born March 29, 1979) is an American ice hockey player. She won a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Kennedy was born in Woburn, Massachusetts. She went to elementary school ...

* Gisele Marvin *

Noora Raty Noora may refer to: * Noora (given name), a Finnish female given name * ''Noora'' (film), a 2002 film directed by Mahmoud Shoolizadeh * Noora (vaccine), an Iranian COVID-19 vaccine candidate See also * Noor (name) Nur (also spelled Noor, Nor ...

* Jenny Schmidgall-Potter * Krissy Wendell

Swimming

Justin Mortimer Justin Mortimer (born 1970) is an English painter, recognized for his paintings of well known high society including Harold Pinter, Sir Steve Redgrave and Queen Elizabeth II. He won the National Gallery's BP Portrait Award in 1991. Early life ...

Track and field

Women's

* Gabriele Grunewald

Men's

* Hassan Mead * Buddy Edelen

=NCAA Champions indoor

= * Ron Backes 1986 (Shot Put, 68–11¼) *

Martin Eriksson Veronica Eriksson, born ''Martin Eriksson'' (15 June 1971) is a retired Swedish pole vaulter. She was born in Stockholm. Her personal best jump was 5.80 metres, achieved in March 2000 in Pietersburg. This places her fourth on the Swedish all-time ...

1993 (Pole Vault, 18–0½) * Vesa Rantanen 1998 (Pole Vault, 18–2½) *Kaitlyn Long 2018 (Hammer, 76–05.50)

=NCAA Champions outdoor

= * Fortune Gordien 1946 (Discus, 153–10¾) * Fortune Gordien 1947 (Discus, 173–3) * Fortune Gordien 1948 (Discus, 164–0¼) *

Garry Bjorklund Garry Brian Bjorklund (born April 22, 1951) is an American middle- and long-distance runner. He represented the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics in the 10,000 meters. As a high schooler, he set a Minnesota state record for the mile run wh ...

1971 (Six Mile, 27:43.1) *Obsa Ali 2017 (3000m steeplechase, 8:32.23)

Wrestling

* Shelton Benjamin — professional wrestler, 36–6 record in two seasons with the Gophers. * Verne Gagne – NCAA champion, owner of the defunct

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

and its former heavyweight champion (10 times), member of Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and several others. * Cole Konrad – 2 time undefeated, NCAA individual champion at 285 lbs; current mixed martial artist and the former

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

Heavyweight Champion * Nik Lentz, wrestler; current mixed martial artist for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (featherweight) *

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...

– Former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current WWE champion. * Dustin Schlatter – 79–2 record in two seasons with the Gophers * Jacob Volkmann – 3-time all-American, former UFC fighter. * Gable Steveson - Olympic gold medalist

Athletic directors

:''Note: From 1974 to 2002, there were separate athletic departments for men and women's sports.'' *1922–30

Fred Luehring Frederick William Luehring (1882 – February 1, 1981) was an American football, basketball, baseball, and swimming coach college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin from 1906 to 1909 ...

*1930–32 Herbert O. (Fritz) Crisler *1932–41

Frank G. McCormick Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

*1941–45 Lou Keller (acting) *1945–50 Frank G. McCormick *1950–63 Ike J. Armstrong *1963–71 Marshall J. Ryman *1971–88 Paul Giel (men's) *1974–76

Belmar Gunderson Belmar Gunderson (September 7, 1934 – May 15, 2023) was an American tennis player. Gunderson, the daughter of an Army colonel, was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and lived in various other military bases during her childhood, including in post-w ...

(women's) *1976–81 Vivian M. Barfield (women's) *1981–82 M. Catherine Mathison (women's interim) *1982–88 Merrily Dean Baker (women's) *1988–89 Holger Christiansen (men's interim) *1988–2002

Chris Voelz Chris Voelz (born May 29, 1949) is the executive director of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards, the most prestigious national collegiate sports awards program for women since 1976. Voelz also heads her own consulting business, A+ (Athletics Plus) ...

(women's) *1989–91

Rick Bay Richard M. Bay (born 1941 or 1942) is a former American football player, Wrestling, wrestler, college athletics administrator, Major League Baseball executive. He was a football player and wrestler at the University of Michigan from 1961 to 1965. ...

(men's) *1991–92 Dan Meinert (men's interim) *1992–95

(men's) *1995–99 Mark Dienhart (men's) *1999–2002 Tom Moe (men's) *2002–2012

Joel Maturi Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

*2012–2015 Norwood Teague *2015–2016

Beth Goetz Beth Goetz (born July 30, 1974) is the current director of athletics for Ball State University. She previously served as chief operating officer at the University of Connecticut from 2016 to 2018, as interim athletic director at the University of ...

(interim) *2016-pres

Mark Coyle Mark Coyle (born 1969) is the 23rd Athletics director, director of athletics at the University of Minnesota, replacing Norwood Teague. He resigned as the athletics director at Syracuse University in May 2016 after spending only 11 months with the ...

Facilities

Current facilities

*Baseline Tennis Center — tennis *Bierman Track and Field Stadium — track * Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium — women's soccer *Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex *Jane Sage Cowles Stadium — softball * Les Bolstad Golf Course — golf, cross country *

3M Arena at Mariucci 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 ...

— men's hockey * Ridder Arena — women's hockey * Siebert Field — baseball *Maturi Pavilion — gymnastics, volleyball, wrestling * TCF Bank Stadium — football * Williams Arena — basketball, wrestling *U of M Boathouse — rowing *Jean K. Freeman University Aquatic Center — swimming and diving *University FieldhouseInvalid Access
Admin.xosn.com. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.

Former facilities

* Northrop Field (1899–1923) * Memorial Stadium (1924–1981) * Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2014)

References

External links

* {{Minnesota Sports