The Little Brown Jug is a trophy contested between the Michigan Wolverines football team of the University of Michigan and the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team of the University of Minnesota. The Little Brown Jug is an earthenware jug that serves as a trophy awarded to the winner of the game. It is one of the oldest and most played rivalries in American college football, dating to 1892. The Little Brown Jug is the most regularly exchanged rivalry trophy in college football, the oldest trophy game in FBS college football, and the second oldest rivalry trophy overall, next to the 1899 Territorial Cup, contested between Arizona and Arizona State.
Philip John Fleck Jr. is an American football coach and former wide receiver. He has served as the head coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team since 2017.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its inception in 1896 as the Western Conference. The Golden Gophers claim seven national championships, including four from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. The Golden Gophers are one of the most prominent and storied programs in college hockey, having made 41 NCAA Tournament appearances and 23 trips to the Frozen Four. They have won five NCAA national championships, in 1974, 1976, 1979, 2002 and 2003. The team also shared the 1929 National Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with Yale, and captured the national Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship for amateur hockey in 1940.
The Minnesota–Wisconsin football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers. It is the most-played rivalry in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, with 133 meetings between the two teams. The winner of the game receives Paul Bunyan's Axe, a tradition that started in 1948 after the first trophy, the Slab of Bacon, disappeared after the 1943 game when the Badgers were supposed to turn it over to the Golden Gophers. Minnesota and Wisconsin first played in 1890 and have met every year since, except for 1906. Wisconsin leads the series 63–62–8 through 2023. Wisconsin took the series lead for the first time after defeating Minnesota 31–0 in the 2017 game; Minnesota had led the overall series since 1902, at times by as many as 20 games.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Golden Gophers competes in the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at the Williams Arena.
Adam Weber is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Minnesota, where he finished his career as the Gophers' all-time leader in career passing yards and career touchdown passes.
The 2010 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten during the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his fifth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. The annual rivalry game against the University of Illinois was played at Wrigley Field on November 20.
The 2011 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hawkeyes were led by head coach Kirk Ferentz, who was in his 13th season, and played their homes games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. They are member of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 7–6 overall and 4–4 in Big Ten Conference play to finish in fourth place in the Legends Division. They were invited to the Insight Bowl, for the second consecutive year, where they were defeated by Oklahoma, 31–14.
The 2011 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Pat Fitzgerald, in his sixth season at Northwestern, was the team's head coach. The Wildcats home games were played at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. They are members of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 3–4 in Big Ten play to finish in fifth place in the Legends Division. They were invited to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas where they were defeated by Texas A&M 22–33.
The 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, the seventh edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 28, 2012 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas as part of the 2012-13 NCAA football bowl season. The game, which was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams, was broadcast at 8 PM CT on ESPN, and featured the Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Big Ten Conference against the Texas Tech Red Raiders from the Big 12 Conference. The Golden Gophers accepted their invitation after finishing the regular season at six-wins, six-losses, while the Red Raiders accepted their invitation following a campaign during which they totaled seven-wins, five-losses. This was not the first time the Golden Gophers and Red Raiders met in a bowl game; the two teams had previously met in the 2006 Insight Bowl, with the Red Raiders winning 44–41 in overtime.
Philip Nelson is a former American football quarterback. He played for the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019, and for the Dallas Renegades of the XFL and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
The 2013 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Jerry Kill and played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were a member of the Legends Division of the Big Ten Conference.
The Minnesota–Nebraska football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team of the University of Minnesota and the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team of the University of Nebraska.
The 2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Jerry Kill, who resigned on October 28, 2015 for health reasons. Tracy Claeys replaced Kill on an interim basis and was named head coach two weeks later on November 11. The Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. Minnesota finished the regular season with a record of 5–7, 2–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. Despite finishing below .500, the Gophers were invited to the Quick Lane Bowl versus Central Michigan due to there not being enough bowl eligible teams and Minnesota's high Academic Performance Rating. Minnesota defeated Central Michigan 21–14 to finish the season 6–7.
The 2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by second-year head coach P. J. Fleck.
The 2019 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by third-year head coach P. J. Fleck.
Tyler Johnson is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He also briefly played for the Houston Texans.
Rashod Bateman is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota and was drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
