The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota. The university fields both men’s and women’s teams in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men’s-specific sports include baseball, football, and wrestling. Women’s-specific sports include rowing, soccer, softball, and volleyball. Joel Maturi has been the Athletic Director since 2002.
In men’s and 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 and women basketball as well as 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 Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
Cheerleaders and the Dance Team are also part of the university’s athletic department; they are present at events for basketball, hockey, football, and volleyball.During the 2006/2007 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 hockey, men’s golf, women’s rowing, men’s swimming and diving, and women’s indoor track and field.
In 1880, the University of Minnesota was preparing for spring graduation. For the previous 29 years, different graduation colors were used every ceremony. In spring 1880, President Folwell began a tradition of common school colors at the University. He asked an English instructor, Mrs. Augusta Smith, to select proper colors to use for graduation ribbons and other occasions. She chose maroon and gold, which made a favorable impression on the students and faculty in 1880. As the years passed and without any kind of formal action, maroon and gold became the official school colors.
The Gopher mascot is a tradition as old as the state. Minnesota was tabbed the Gopher State in 1857 after a satirizing cartoon, depicting nine Gophers with the heads of local politicians pulling a locomotive, was published. The story was over legislative action for a $5 million railroad proposal in western Minnesota. Later, the University picked up the nickname.
The Golden adjective has not always been a part of the Gopher nickname.
During the 1930s, the Gophers wore gold jerseys and pants. Legendary KSTP radio announcer Halsey Hall coined the term Golden Gophers in reference to the team all-gold attire on the field. From 1932 through 1941, Minnesota compiled an impressive record, losing only 12 games and winning seven Big Ten titles and five national championships a true golden decade of Gopher football.
With the exception of football, national championships are awarded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA itself does not award a championship for Division I-A football. The NCAA began awarding national championships for men’s basketball in 1939; previous championships were retroactively awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation.
The NCAA began awarding national championships for men’s ice hockey in 1948; previous championships were awarded by the Amateur Athletic Union and by the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA began awarding national championships for women’s ice hockey in 2001; previous championships were awarded by the American Women’s College Hockey Alliance.