Minnesota Golden Gophers football | |||
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First season | 1882; 142 years ago | ||
Athletic director | Mark Coyle | ||
Head coach | P. J. Fleck 7th season, 49–34 (.590) | ||
Stadium | Huntington Bank Stadium (capacity: 50,805 [1] ) | ||
Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||
NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
Conference | Big Ten Conference | ||
Division | West | ||
All-time record | 733–543–44 (.572) | ||
Bowl record | 12–12 (.500) | ||
Claimed national titles | 7 (1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960) | ||
Unclaimed national titles | 2 (1911, 1915) | ||
Conference titles | 18 | ||
Division titles | 1 (2019) [2] | ||
Rivalries | Iowa (rivalry) Michigan (rivalry) Nebraska (rivalry) Penn State (rivalry) [3] Wisconsin (rivalry) | ||
Heisman winners | Bruce Smith – 1941 | ||
Consensus All-Americans | 34 | ||
Current uniform | |||
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Colors | Maroon and gold [4] | ||
Fight song | Minnesota Rouser | ||
Mascot | Goldy Gopher | ||
Marching band | Minnesota Marching Band | ||
Outfitter | Nike | ||
Website | gophersports.com |
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, [5] including four (1936, 1940, 1941, and 1960) from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll.
Since 2009, the Golden Gophers have played all their home games at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [6] The team is currently coached by P. J. Fleck.
The Minnesota Gophers college football team played its first game on September 32, 1882, a 4–0 victory over Hamline University. Eight years later in 1890, the Gophers played host to Wisconsin in a 63–0 victory. With the exception of 1906, the Gophers and Badgers have played each other every year since then. The 132 games played against each other is the most played rivalry in Division I-A college football.
The sport's beginnings were humble. Students began gathering to play the game recreationally and its popularity grew.
Once the sport had taken off, it was only a matter of time before a team was formed to play against other schools. Early teams were very loosely organized, not requiring all of the players to be students and not having designated coaches. The players on the team started to recruit faculty members who had played football at schools in the East to help organize the team. The team gained their first coach in 1883: Thomas Peebles, a philosophy professor who also recruited a cheer team for the football players, which later established him as the father of American cheerleading. [7] Like many of the early coaches, his term lasted just one year. [8]
Some years, the football team played without a coach. Other years, they played with multiple coaches. In total, from 1882 through 1899, the team played 16 seasons of football and had 15 different coaches. As the years went by, the leadership structure started to become more formal. In 1900, the hiring of Dr. Henry L. Williams, the school’s first full-time salaried coach, signaled the end of the early, chaotic days. [9] : 15
The Gophers enjoyed quite a bit of success in the early 20th century, posting winning records from 1900 to 1919. Head coach Henry L. Williams developed the "Minnesota shift", a predecessor to later quick line shifts, which was adopted widely. [10] Also Henry L. Williams led Minnesota to one of the NCAA's longest unbeaten streaks of 35 games, from 1903 to 1905 with 34 wins and 1 tie. [11] In 1932, Bernie Bierman became the Gophers' head coach and led the Gophers to their first dynasty. From 1934 to 1936 the Gophers went on a run of winning three straight National Championships, the last Division I team to accomplish this feat. During the run, Minnesota went unbeaten in 28 straight games, 21 of which were consecutive victories. The school record for consecutive victories is 24, which spanned 3 seasons from 1903 to 1905. Led by halfback Bruce Smith, the Gophers also won two more national championships in 1940 and 1941, with Smith winning the Heisman Trophy in 1941. Those two seasons comprised most of an 18-game winning streak that stretched from 1939 to 1942.
In the seasons immediately following the end of World War II, Bernie Sanders did not adopt the 2 most important innovations in on-field strategy: substituting the 60-minute player for two-platoon of offensive-only and defensive-only players, and the split-T offensive formation. Instead, Bierman continued to use two-way players and the single-wing formation. [12]
Off the field, Bierman had to contend with the most conservative administration in the Big Ten. President James Morrill's public and private advocacy for the less-professional rules of the pre-World War II era led Minnesota to become the only Big Ten school to vote against the 3 most consequential conference decisions in the immediate post-war years: the legalization of athletic scholarships in 1949, and the 1946 and 1950 Rose Bowl deals. [13]
After some mediocre seasons throughout the remainder of the 1940s and 1950s, the Gophers rose back to prominence in 1960 with their seventh national championship (because polling ended after the regular season, the Gophers were crowned AP and UPI national champions despite losing the Rose Bowl to Washington). That national championship followed a 1–8 record in 1958 and 2–7 record in 1959. Minnesota played in bowl games the two following years as well, in 1961 and 1962. The Gophers earned their first berth in the Rose Bowl by winning the 1960 Big Ten title. The following year, Minnesota returned to Pasadena despite a second-place finish in the conference. The Ohio State Buckeyes, the Big Ten champions in 1961, declined an invitation to the Rose Bowl because of tension between academics and athletics at the school. Minnesota beat UCLA 21–3 to claim its first and only Rose Bowl victory. Minnesota's last Big Ten title was in 1967, tying the Indiana Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers atop the standings.
After their 8–2 record in 1967, the Gophers did not win 8 games in a season again until they finished 8–4 in 1999. [14] Their 10–3 record in 2003 gave the Gophers their first 10 win season since 1905.
The 2006 team had the dubious distinction of blowing a 38–7 third-quarter lead in the Insight Bowl against Texas Tech, losing 44–41 in overtime. The collapse, which was the biggest in the history of Division I-A postseason football, directly led to the firing of head coach Glen Mason. On January 17, 2007, Tim Brewster was officially announced as the next head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. [15]
In 1981, the Gophers played their last game in Memorial Stadium and played their home games in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome until 2008. The Gophers moved back to campus with a 20–13 win against Air Force on September 12, 2009, when their new home, TCF Bank Stadium, opened.
In 2010, after a 1–6 record to start the season, the Gophers football head coach Tim Brewster was fired. Jeff Horton served as the interim head coach going 2–3. On December 6, 2010, Jerry Kill, former Northern Illinois University head coach, was hired to take over the University of Minnesota football program. [16]
In 2014, The Gophers reached an 8–4 record while going 5–3 in Big Ten games, falling just short of making the Big Ten Championship Game by losing to The Wisconsin Badgers in the season finale. After being revitalized in the Big Ten contention, The Gophers were awarded an appearance in the Citrus Bowl on January 1 against Missouri.
In 2018, the Gophers defeated the Badgers to reclaim Paul Bunyan's Axe and end a 14 season losing streak.
In 2019, the Gophers turned in a historic season, going 11-2 (7-2 in conference play) [17] including a home victory against No. 4 Penn State 31-26, their first victory over a top 5 team in 20 years. [18] The win also marked the first time since 1904 that the Gophers started out a season 9-0. [19]
Team | Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | Streak | First meeting | Last meeting |
Chicago Maroons | 12 | 5 | 1 | .694 | Won 7 | 1895 | 1934 |
Illinois Fighting Illini | 40 | 33 | 3 | .546 | Lost 3 | 1898 | 2023 |
Indiana Hoosiers | 40 | 26 | 3 | .601 | Won 4 | 1906 | 2021 |
Iowa Hawkeyes | 63 | 51 | 2 | .547 | Won 1 | 1891 | 2023 |
Maryland Terrapins | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | Won 1 | 1977 | 2021 |
Michigan Wolverines | 25 | 77 | 3 | .252 | Lost 4 | 1891 | 2023 |
Michigan State Spartans | 19 | 30 | 0 | .388 | Won 2 | 1950 | 2023 |
Nebraska Cornhuskers | 37 | 25 | 2 | .578 | Won 5 | 1900 | 2023 |
Northwestern Wildcats | 55 | 37 | 5 | .597 | Lost 1 | 1892 | 2023 |
Ohio State Buckeyes | 7 | 47 | 0 | .130 | Lost 12 | 1921 | 2023 |
Penn State Nittany Lions | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | Lost 1 | 1993 | 2022 |
Purdue Boilermakers | 41 | 35 | 3 | .538 | Lost 2 | 1894 | 2023 |
Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 3 | 2016 | 2022 |
Wisconsin Badgers | 62 | 63 | 8 | .496 | Lost 1 | 1890 | 2023 |
406 | 436 | 35 | .483 |
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Minnesota has been selected nine times as national champions from NCAA-designated major selectors, including four (1936, 1940, 1941, and 1960) from the major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. [20] [21] : 111–113 Minnesota claims seven (1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, and 1960) of these championships. [22]
Season | Coach | Selectors | Record | Bowl | Result | Final AP | Final Coaches |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1904 | Henry L. Williams | Billingsley | 13–0 | – | – | ||
1934 | Bernie Bierman | Billingsley, Boand, Dickinson, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess) | 8–0 | – | – | ||
1935 | Bernie Bierman | Billingsley, Boand, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling | 8–0 | – | – | ||
1936 | Bernie Bierman | AP, Billingsley, Dickinson, Dunkel, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling | 7–1 | No. 1 | – | ||
1940 | Bernie Bierman | AP, Berryman, Boand, DeVold, Dickinson, Football Research, Houlgate, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess) | 8–0 | No. 1 | – | ||
1941 | Bernie Bierman | AP, Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess) | 8–0 | No. 1 | – | ||
1960 | Murray Warmath | AP, FB News, NFF, UPI | 8–2 | Rose | L 7–17 | No. 1 | No. 1 |
The Gophers were the inaugural winners of the Toledo Cup national championship trophy in 1934 and repeated the feat in 1935 and 1936. [23] The poll's rules stated the traveling trophy would be retained permanently by the first team to win it three times; Bernie Bierman's teams completed the three-peat without any other team winning the cup. [24] The Toledo Cup is currently displayed in the lobby of the Gibson-Nagurski Athletic Center at the University of Minnesota. [23] [24]
Minnesota won Dickinson System national championships in 1934, 1936, and 1940. The three wins gave them permanent possession of the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy, which had been introduced in 1931. [25] Following tradition, the university set their own new trophy into play and named it for former football coach Henry L. Williams.
With professor Frank Dickinson retiring from the ratings business, the new Williams Trophy was instead linked to the nascent AP Poll and served as the first AP Trophy.
Minnesota has won 18 conference championships, 11 shared and 7 outright.
Season | Coach | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
1892 | No coach | Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest | 5–0 | 3–0 |
1893 | Wallace Winter | Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest | 6–0 | 3–0 |
1900† | Henry L. Williams | Western Conference | 10–0–2 | 3–0–1 |
1903† | Henry L. Williams | Western Conference | 14–0–1 | 3–0–1 |
1904† | Henry L. Williams | Western Conference | 13–0 | 3–0 |
1906† | Henry L. Williams | Western Conference | 4–1 | 2–0 |
1909 | Henry L. Williams | Western Conference | 6–1 | 3–0 |
1910† | Henry L. Williams | Western Conference | 6–1 | 2–0 |
1911 | Henry L. Williams | Western Conference | 6–0–1 | 3–0–1 |
1915† | Henry L. Williams | Western Conference | 6–0–1 | 3–0–1 |
1927† | Clarence Spears | Big Ten Conference | 6–0–2 | 3–0–1 |
1933† | Bernie Bierman | Big Ten Conference | 4–0–4 | 2–0–4 |
1934 | Bernie Bierman | Big Ten Conference | 8–0 | 5–0 |
1935† | Bernie Bierman | Big Ten Conference | 8–0 | 5–0 |
1937 | Bernie Bierman | Big Ten Conference | 6–2 | 5–0 |
1938 | Bernie Bierman | Big Ten Conference | 6–2 | 4–1 |
1940 | Bernie Bierman | Big Ten Conference | 8–0 | 6–0 |
1941 | Bernie Bierman | Big Ten Conference | 8–0 | 5–0 |
1960† | Murray Warmath | Big Ten Conference | 8–2 | 6–1 |
1967† | Murray Warmath | Big Ten Conference | 8–2 | 6–1 |
† Co-champions
Big Ten Football adopted divisions in 2011, with the winner of each division playing for the conference championship. The divisions were known as Legends and Leaders from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, the divisions were realigned geographically into East and West. Minnesota competes in the Big Ten West Division. Minnesota has shared one division title, in 2019. [2]
Season | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
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2019† | Big Ten – West | P. J. Fleck | N/A lost tiebreaker to Wisconsin |
† Co-champions
Minnesota has played in 24 bowl games, amassing a record of 12–12. [26]
Bowl Game | # | W | L | % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Citrus Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Insight Bowl) | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 |
Hall of Fame Classic | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Holiday Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Independence Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Liberty Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
MicronPC.com Bowl | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Music City Bowl | 3 | 2 | 1 | .666 |
Outback Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Pinstripe Bowl | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Quick Lane Bowl | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
Rose Bowl | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
Sun Bowl | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
Texas Bowl | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1882 | No coach | 1 | 1–1 | .500 |
1883 | Thomas Peebles | 1 | 1–2 | .333 |
1884–1885 | No games played | 2 | ||
1886–1888 | Frederick S. Jones | 3 | 3–3 | .500 |
1889 | Al McCord, D. W. McCord, Frank Heffelfinger, Billy Morse | 1 | 3–1 | .750 |
1890 | Tom Eck | 1 | 5–1–1 | .786 |
1891 | Edward Moulton | 1 | 3–1–1 | .700 |
1892 | No coach | 1 | 5–0 | 1.000 |
1893 | Wallace Winter | 1 | 6–0 | 1.000 |
1894 | Tom Cochrane Jr. | 1 | 3–1 | .750 |
1895 | Pudge Heffelfinger | 1 | 7–3 | .700 |
1896–1897 | Alexander Jerrems | 2 | 12–6 | .667 |
1898 | Jack Minds | 1 | 4–5 | .444 |
1899 | Jack Harrison, William C. Leary | 1 | 6–3–2 | .636 |
1900–1921 | Henry L. Williams | 22 | 136–33–11 | .786 |
1922–1924 | William H. Spaulding | 3 | 11–7–4 | .591 |
1925–1929 | Clarence Spears | 5 | 28–9–3 | .738 |
1930–1931 | Fritz Crisler | 2 | 10–7–1 | .583 |
1932–1941, 1945–1950 | Bernie Bierman | 16 | 93–35–6 | .716 |
1942–1944 | George Hauser | 3 | 15–11–1 | .574 |
1951–1953 | Wes Fesler | 3 | 10–13–4 | .444 |
1954–1971 | Murray Warmath | 18 | 87–78–7 | .526 |
1972–1978 | Cal Stoll | 7 | 39–39 | .500 |
1979–1983 | Joe Salem | 5 | 19–35–1 | .355 |
1984–1985 | Lou Holtz | 2 | 10–12 | .455 |
1986–1991 | John Gutekunst | 6 | 29–36–2 | .448 |
1992–1996 | Jim Wacker | 5 | 16–39 | .291 |
1997–2006 | Glen Mason | 10 | 64–57 | .529 |
2007–2010 | Tim Brewster | 4 | 15–30 | .333 |
2010 | Jeff Horton | 1 | 2–3 | .400 |
2011–2015 | Jerry Kill | 5 | 29–29 | .500 |
2015–2016 | Tracy Claeys | 2 | 11–8 | .579 |
2017–present | P. J. Fleck | 7 | 50–34 | .595 |
The winner of the game is awarded the Floyd of Rosedale, 98 lb (44 kg) a bronze pig trophy. The trophy began in 1935, when, in an effort to deescalate tensions between the two teams and fan bases, Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson bet Iowa Governor Clyde L. Herring a prize hog against an Iowa prize hog that Minnesota would win the game. After Minnesota's victory, Governor Herring obtained a pig donated by Rosedale Farms and named the hog after Governor Olson, giving birth to Floyd of Rosedale. Minnesota leads the series with Iowa 63–52–2 through the 2023 season. [27]
The Michigan–Minnesota football rivalry is the first and oldest trophy game in college football history. The winner of the game is awarded the Little Brown Jug, a five-gallon earthenware jug. The jug was used by Michigan in the 1903 matchup to prevent Minnesota from tampering with its water supply, and, according to folklore, stolen from Michigan by a Minnesota custodian after the game. Michigan leads the series 77–25–3 with the last game played in 2023. [28]
The winner of the Minnesota-Nebraska game is awarded the $5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy, which is an unofficial trophy created by fans after a good-humored back and forth between the Twitter accounts for Minnesota mascot Goldy Gopher and a parody account for then-head coach Bo Pelini. The trophy was officially rejected by both universities, although groups associated with each university continue to use the trophy as a fundraiser around the annual matchup. Minnesota leads the series with Nebraska 37–25–2 through the 2023 season. [29]
The Minnesota-Wisconsin rivalry is the most-played rivalry in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. 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. Minnesota dominated the series for most of the first half of the 20th century, and Wisconsin similarly dominated the series from the early 1990s until 2018, accruing a 14-game win streak for the Badgers which gave Wisconsin its first-ever lead in the series in 2017. Wisconsin leads the series 63–62–8 through the 2023 season. [30]
Huntington Bank Stadium is the football stadium for the Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 52,525-seat on-campus "horseshoe" style stadium is designed to support future expansion to seat up to 80,000 people, and cost $303.3 million to build. The stadium was the temporary home of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for the 2014 and 2015 seasons while U.S. Bank Stadium was being built.
The complex houses the team administrative offices, locker room, meeting rooms, equipment room, training room, and players’ lounges. It is named after Gopher teammates from the 1920s, George Gibson and Bronko Nagurski.
The Golden Gophers has retired three numbers. [31] [32] [33]
No. | Player | Position | Career | Date of Retirement |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Paul Giel | HB | 1951–1953 | September 24, 1991 |
54 | Bruce Smith | HB | 1939–1941 | June 27, 1977 |
72 | Bronko Nagurski | FB/T | 1927–1929 | October 27, 1979 |
Additionally, the Golden Gophers have retired two jerseys. This honor is distinguished from "retired numbers" because the numbers of these players can be worn by any player normally. [33]
No. | Player | Position | Career | Date of Retirement |
---|---|---|---|---|
15 | Sandy Stephens | QB | 1959–1961 | November 18, 2000 |
78 | Bobby Bell | LB/DE | 1960–1962 | September 18, 2010 |
Players
Coaches |
Players
| Coach
|
Inductees as of 2024. [58] [59] : 173
Name | Position(s) | Inducted | Years | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bert Baston | E | 1954 | 1914–1916 | [60] |
Bobby Bell | T | 1991 | 1960–1962 | [61] |
Bernie Bierman | HC | 1955 | 1932–1941 1945–1950 | [62] |
Tom Brown | G | 2003 | 1958–1960 | [63] |
Fritz Crisler | HC | 1954 | 1930–1931 | [64] |
Carl Eller | T | 2006 | 1961–1963 | [65] |
George Franck | HB | 2002 | 1938–1940 | [66] |
Paul Giel | HB | 1975 | 1951–1953 | [67] |
Lou Holtz | HC | 2008 | 1984–1985 | [68] |
Herb Joesting | FB | 1954 | 1925–1927 | [69] |
Pug Lund | HB | 1958 | 1932–1934 | [70] |
Bobby Marshall | E | 1971 | 1904–1906 | [71] |
John McGovern | QB | 1966 | 1908–1910 | [72] |
Bronko Nagurski | FB, T | 1951 | 1927–1929 | [73] |
Leo Nomellini | T, G | 1977 | 1946–1949 | [74] |
Eddie Rogers | E | 1968 | 1900–1903 | [75] |
Bruce Smith | HB | 1972 | 1939–1941 | [76] |
Bob Stein | DE | 2020 | 1966–1968 | [77] |
Sandy Stephens | QB | 2011 | 1959–1961 | [78] |
Clayton Tonnemaker | C | 1980 | 1946–1949 | [79] |
Ed Widseth | T | 1954 | 1934–1936 | [80] |
Dick Wildung | T | 1957 | 1940–1942 | [81] |
Henry L. Williams | HC | 1951 | 1900–1921 | [82] |
Inductees as of 2017. [59] : 172
Name | Position(s) | Class | Team(s), Years |
---|---|---|---|
Bobby Bell | DE, LB | 1983 | Kansas City Chiefs, 1963–1974 |
Tony Dungy | Head Coach | 2016 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1996–2001 Indianapolis Colts, 2002–2008 |
Carl Eller | DE | 2004 | Minnesota Vikings, 1964–1978 Seattle Seahawks, 1979 |
Bud Grant | Head Coach | 1994 | Minnesota Vikings, 1967–1983, 1985 |
Bronko Nagurski | FB | 1963 | Chicago Bears 1930–1937, 1943 |
Leo Nomellini | DT | 1969 | San Francisco 49ers 1950–1963 |
Charlie Sanders | TE | 2007 | Detroit Lions 1968–1977 |
Inductees as of 2017. [83] [84]
Name | Position(s) | Class | Team(s), Years |
---|---|---|---|
Tom Brown | DL | 1984 | BC Lions, 1961–1967 |
Bud Grant | TE Head Coach | 1983 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 1953–1966 |
NFL Draft selections | |
---|---|
Total selected: | 333 |
1st Round: | 18 |
NFL achievements | |
Total Players: | 215 |
Hall of Famers: | 7 |
Source: [59] |
List current as of May 19, 2024. [85]
Player | Position | Current Team | League |
---|---|---|---|
Shannon Brooks | RB | Arizona Rattlers | IFL |
Chuck Filiaga | OL | San Antonio Brahmas | UFL |
Ryan Santoso | K | San Antonio Brahmas | UFL |
Drew Wolitarsky | WR | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | CFL |
Announced schedules as of October 11, 2022 [106]
No opponents currently scheduled for the 2029 and 2031 seasons.
2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs North Carolina | vs Buffalo | vs Eastern Illinois | vs San Jose State | vs North Dakota | vs North Dakota | vs Alabama | at Alabama | ||
vs Rhode Island | vs Northwestern State | vs Mississippi State | at Mississippi State | vs Bowling Green | |||||
vs Nevada | at California | vs Akron | vs California |
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Ten Conference.
Bruce Phillip Smith, nicknamed "Boo", was an American football halfback. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1941.
The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference in 1899 and played their first Conference football season in 1900. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Hawkeyes play their home games in Iowa City, Iowa, at Kinnick Stadium, with a capacity of 69,250. The Hawkeyes are coached by Kirk Ferentz, who is in his 25th season as the head coach and is the longest current tenured head coach in NCAA Division I FBS. The Hawkeyes have won 13 conference championships. Iowa has been ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches Poll 15 times.
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.
Siebert Field is a baseball park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. It is the home venue for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten Conference, and is named in honor of Dick Siebert, a former head coach who led the Gophers to three national titles. From 1971 to 1978, the venue was known as Bierman Field in honor of Bernie Bierman.
Murray Warmath was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 1952 to 1953 and at the University of Minnesota from 1954 to 1971, compiling a career head coaching record of 97–84–10. In 1960, Warmath led the Minnesota Golden Gophers to a share of the Big Ten Conference title, an appearance in the Rose Bowl, and a national championship, the program's most recent to date. The following season, Minnesota placed second in the Big Ten Conference and returned to the Rose Bowl. Warmath's 1967 squad captured a share of a second Big Ten championship.
The Purdue Boilermakers football team represents Purdue University in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Purdue plays its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The head coach of Purdue is Ryan Walters, the 37th head coach in Purdue history. The Boilermakers compete in the Big Ten Conference as a member of the West Division. Purdue had most recently been a part of the Leaders Division of the Big Ten, but moved to the West Division in 2014 due to conference expansion.
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 Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Iowa Hawkeyes football team of the University of Iowa and Minnesota Golden Gophers football team of the University of Minnesota. Floyd of Rosedale, introduced in 1935, is a bronze trophy in the shape of a pig which is awarded to the winner of the game.
The 1985 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1985 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second and final year under head coach Lou Holtz, the Golden Gophers compiled a 7–5 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 293 to 240.
Francis LeRoy "Pug" Lund was an American football player. He played college football as a halfback for Minnesota Golden Gophers and won All-Big Ten Conference honors in both 1933 and in 1934. He was captain of the 1934 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team that compiled a perfect 8–0 record and won the national championship. He won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the conference in 1934 and was also a consensus first-team player on the 1934 All-America college football team. Lund was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1958.
Jerry R. Kill is an American football coach. He was most recently the head coach at New Mexico State University. He played college football at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, from 1979 to 1982. Kill served as the head coach at Saginaw Valley State University, Emporia State University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Northern Illinois University and the University of Minnesota, as well as serving as the interim head coach for the final four games of the 2021 season at TCU.
The 1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1941 Big Ten Conference football season. In their tenth year under head coach Bernie Bierman, the Golden Gophers compiled an undefeated 8–0 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 186 to 38. The team's national championship run in the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor was chronicled in journalist Danny Spewak's book, "From the Gridiron to the Battlefield: Minnesota's March to a College Football Title and into World War II," published in 2021 by Rowman & Littlefield.
The 2012 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-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. They finished the season 6–7, 2–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the Legends Division. They were invited to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas where they were defeated by Texas Tech.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers softball team represents the University of Minnesota in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I competition. College softball became a varsity sport at the University of Minnesota in 1974.
The 1967 Big Ten Conference football season was the 72nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1967 NCAA University Division football season.
The 1960 Big Ten Conference football season was the 65th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1960 college football season.
The 1937 Big Ten Conference football season was the 42nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1937 college football season.
The 1936 Big Ten Conference football season was the 41st season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1936 college football season.
The 1935 Big Ten Conference football season was the 40th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1935 college football season.
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