Minnesota Golden Gophers football

Minnesota Golden Gophers football
2016 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
First season	1882
Athletic director	Mark Coyle
Head coach	Tracy Claeys 1st year, 10–8 (.556)
Stadium	TCF Bank Stadium
Location	Minneapolis, Minnesota
NCAA division	Division I FBS
Conference	Big Ten
Division	West
All-time record	666–500–42 (.569)
Bowl record	6–12 (.333)
Claimed nat'l titles	7 (1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1960)
Conference titles	18
Heisman winners	1
Consensus All-Americans	33
Colors	Maroon and Gold[1]
Fight song	Minnesota Rouser
Mascot	Goldy Gopher
Marching band	Minnesota Marching Band
Outfitter	Nike
Rivals	Iowa Hawkeyes Wisconsin Badgers Michigan Wolverines Penn State Nittany Lions Nebraska Cornhuskers
Website	gophersports.com

The Minnesota Golden Gophers football program represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. Founded in 1882, the program is one of the oldest in college football. 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: 1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, and 1960.^[2] Since 2009, the Gophers have played all their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[3] The team's current head coach is Tracy Claeys.

History

The Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team played its first game on September 29, 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 124 games played against each other is the most played rivalry in Division I-A college football.

Early years

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. Some years, they 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.^[4]:15

Glory years

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.^[5] 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.^[6] In 1932, Bernie Bierman became the Gopher 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. The Gophers also won two more national championships in 1940 and 1941. Those two seasons comprised most of an 18-game winning streak that stretched from 1939 to 1942.

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.

Recent history

After their 8–2 record in 1967, the Gophers would not win 8 games in a season again until they went 8–4 in 1999.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.

The 91st battle for the Little Brown Jug between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Michigan Wolverines in the Metrodome.

All-time record vs. Big Ten opponents

This is the Gophers football record against current Big Ten Conference opponents.

School	Total Games	W	L	T	Pct.	PF	PA	First Year	Last Year	Streak
Illinois	67	35	29	3	.545	1251	1099	1898	2014	Won 1
Indiana	67	38	26	3	.590	1430	1129	1906	2013	Won 2
Iowa	108	63	44	2	.583	2439	1830	1891	2015	Lost 1
Maryland	1	1	1	0	.500	7	17	1977	2016	Won 1
Michigan	101	25	73	3	.262	1160	2392	1892	2014	Lost 1
Michigan State	46	17	29	0	.370	832	1132	1950	2013	Lost 4
Nebraska	55	31	22	2	.582	907	964	1900	2014	Lost 1
Northwestern	90	52	33	5	.606	1946	1511	1892	2014	Lost 1
Ohio State	51	7	44	0	.137	661	1568	1921	2014	Lost 9
Penn State	13	5	8	0	.385	226	332	1993	2013	Won 1
Purdue	70	35	32	3	.521	1423	1368	1894	2012	Won 2
Rutgers	0	0	0	0	–	0	0	2016	2016	N/A
Wisconsin	125	59	58	8	.508	2131	2040	1890	2014	Lost 12
13 Opponents	795	366	398	12	.480	14,183	15,249	1890	2014	119 Seasons

The University of Chicago was a Big Ten Conference member from 1896 to 1946.

School	Total Games	W	L	T	Pct.	PF	PA	First Year	Last Year
Chicago	18	12	5	1	.694	303	144	1895	1934

Championships

National championships

The NCAA itself does not award a championship for Division I-A/FBS football. A number of different organizations and publications designate a national champion. The following are the national championships that Minnesota recognizes.

Season	Coach	Selectors	Record	Bowl
1904	Henry L. Williams	Billingsley	13–0
1934	Bernie Bierman	Billingsley, Boand, Dickinson, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation	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
1940	Bernie Bierman	AP, Berryman, Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Dickinson, Football Research, Houlgate, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation	8–0
1941	Bernie Bierman	AP, Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling	8–0
1960	Murray Warmath	AP, FB News, NFF, UPI	8–2	Lost Rose Bowl
National Championships			7

^[10][11]

Conference championships

Minnesota was a member of the short-lived Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest in 1892 and 1893 and won the conference title both seasons.

Season	Coach	Overall Record	Conference Record
1892	No coach	5-0-0	3-0-0
1893	Wallie Winter	6-0-0	3-0-0
Conference Titles			2

Minnesota joined the Big Ten (originally known as the Western Conference) as charter members in 1896.

Season	Coach	Overall Record	Conference Record
1900†	Henry L. Williams	10-0-2	3-0-1
1903†	Henry L. Williams	14-0-1	3-0-1
1904†	Henry L. Williams	13-0	3-0
1906†	Henry L. Williams	4-1	2-0
1909	Henry L. Williams	6-1	3-0
1910†	Henry L. Williams	6-1	2-0
1911	Henry L. Williams	6-0-1	3-0-1
1915†	Henry L. Williams	6-0-1	3-0-1
1927†	Dr. Clarence Spears	6-0-2	3-0-1
1933†	Bernie Bierman	4-0-4	2-0-4
1934	Bernie Bierman	8-0	5-0
1935†	Bernie Bierman	8-0	5-0
1937	Bernie Bierman	6-2	5-0
1938	Bernie Bierman	6-2	4-1
1940	Bernie Bierman	8-0	6-0
1941	Bernie Bierman	8-0	5-0
1960†	Murray Warmath	8-2	6-1
1967†	Murray Warmath	8-2	6-1
Conference Titles			18
† Denotes co-champions

Current staff

Name	Position
Tracy Claeys	Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator[12]
Jay Johnson	Offensive Coordinator & Quarterbacks Coach
Bart Miller	Offensive Line Coach
Jay Sawvel	Defensive Backs Coach & Special Teams Coordinator
Brian Anderson	Wide Receivers Coach
Jeff Phelps	Defensive Line Coach
Pat Poore	Running Backs Coach
Rob Reeves	H-Backs & Tight Ends Coach
Dan O'Brien	Assistant Defensive Backs Coach & Co-Special Teams Coordinator
Mike Sherels	Linebackers Coach

Facilities

TCF Bank Stadium

TCF 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.

Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex

The complex is a state-of-the-art facility housing the team administrative offices, team locker room, team meeting rooms, equipment room, training room, and players’ lounges.

Former venues

• Northrop Field (1899–1923)
• Memorial Stadium (1924–1981)
• Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2008)

Gopher football attendance (1982-Present)

Year	Total	Games	Season highest	Average
1982	353,388	6	Iowa (63,872)	58,898
1983	243,674	5	Wisconsin (62,689)	48,735
1984	310,745	6	Iowa (63,479)	51,791
1985	426,989	7	Wisconsin (64,571)	60,985
1986	335,150	6	Iowa (65,018)	55,848
1987	371,919	7	Wisconsin (62,412)	53,131
1988	312,656	7	Iowa (63,894)	44,665
1989	237,642	6	Nebraska (58,368)	39,607
1990	243,511	6	Iowa (64,694)	40,585
1991	218,219	6	San Jose State (47,914)	36,369
1992	227,445	6	Iowa (57,368)	37,908
1993	239,973	6	Wisconsin (64,798)	39,996
1994	253,851	6	Iowa (53,340)	42,309
1995	291,443	6	Wisconsin (64,016)	48,574
1996	261,113	6	Iowa (53,349)	43,519
1997	269,385	6	Wisconsin (57,563)	44,898
1998	249,854	6	Iowa (50,640)	41,642
1999	318,086	7	Wisconsin (63,108)	45,441
2000	284,112	6	Northwestern (59,004)	47,352
2001	260,912	6	Wisconsin (55,890)	43,485
2002	292,492	7	Iowa (65,184)	41,785
2003	309,038	7	Michigan (62,374)	44,148
2004	285,438	6	Iowa (64,719)	47,573
2005	294,147	6	Wisconsin (65,089)	49,024
2006	313,239	6	Iowa (64,140)	52,206
2007	362,538	7	North Dakota State (63,088)	51,791
2008	342,705	7	Iowa (64,071)	48,958
2009(TCF Bank Stadium)	355,635	7	All Games Sellout(50,805)	50,805
2010	346,593	7	Iowa(50,805)	49,913
2011	333,996	7	Miami(OH) (49,950)	47,714
2012	326,456	7	Syracuse(50,805)	46,637
2013	334,581	7	Wisconsin(53,090)	47,797
2014	335,056	7	Purdue(51,241)	47,865
2015	366,564	7	TCU(54,147)	52,366

All-time records

All-time coaching records

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	0–0	.000
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	.833
1891	Edward Moulton	1	3–1–1	.750
1892	No coach	1	5–0	1.000
1893	"Wallie" Winter	1	6–0	1.000
1894	Tom Cochrane Jr.	1	3–1	.750
1895	William Heffelfinger	1	7–3	.700
1896–1897	Alexander Jerrems	2	12–6	.667
1898	Jack Minds	1	4–5	.444
1899	John Harrison, William C. Leary	1	6–3–2	.682
1900–1921	Henry L. Williams	22	136–33–11	.786
1922–1924	William H. Spaulding	3	11–7–4	.611
1925–1929	Clarence Spears	5	28–9–3	.757
1930–1931	Fritz Crisler	2	10–7–1	.558
1932–1941, 1945–1950	Bernie Bierman	16	93–35–6	.727
1942–1944	George Hauser	3	15–11–1	.577
1951–1953	Wes Fesler	3	10–13–4	.435
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	.352
1984–1985	Lou Holtz	2	10–12	.455
1986–1991	John Gutekunst	6	29–36–2	.441
1992–1996	Jim Wacker	5	16–39	.291
1997–2006	Glen Mason	10	64–57	.535
2007–2010	Tim Brewster	4	15–30	.333
2010	Jeff Horton	1	2–3	.400
2011–2015	Jerry Kill	5	29-29	.500
2015–present	Tracy Claeys	1	10-8	.555
Totals	31 coaches	131 seasons	668–498–44[13]	.570

Bowl games

List of Minnesota Golden Gophers bowl games

Rivalries / trophy games

• Trophy: Paul Bunyan's Axe, Rival: Wisconsin Badgers, a Big Ten West Division Border Rivalry played since 1890 a total of 124 games played.
• Trophy: Floyd of Rosedale, Rival: Iowa Hawkeyes, a Big Ten West Division Border Rivalry played since 1894 a total of 108 games played.
• Trophy:Little Brown Jug, Rival: Michigan Wolverines, an Inter-Division Big Ten played since 1902 a total of 101 games played.
• Trophy: Governor's Victory Bell, Rival: Penn State Nittany Lions, an Inter-Division Big Ten played since 1993 a total of 13 games played.
• Trophy: *$5-Bits-O-Broken-Chair Trophy , Rival: Nebraska Cornhuskers, a Big Ten West Division Rivalry played since 1900 a total of 55 games played.

Individual award winners

Retired numbers

Minnesota Golden Gophers retired numbers
No.	Player	Position	Career	Date of Retirement
10	Paul Giel	Tailback	1951-53	September 24, 1991
15	Sandy Stephens	QB	1959-61	November 18, 2000
54	Bruce Smith	RB	1940-41	June 27, 1977
72	Bronko Nagurski	FB/T	1927-29	October 27, 1979
78	Bobby Bell	LB/DE	1960-62	September 18, 2010

National

Big Ten Conference

College Football Hall of Famers

Inductee	Position(s)	Class	Year(s)
Bert Baston	End	1954	1914–1916
Bobby Bell	T	1991	1960–1962
Bernie Bierman	Head Coach	1955	1932-1941 1945-1950
Tom Brown	G	2003	1958–1960
Fritz Crisler	Head Coach	1954	1930–1931
Carl Eller	DT	2006	1959–1962
George Franck	RB	2002	1938–1940
Paul Giel	RB	1975	1951–1953
Lou Holtz	Head Coach	2008	1984–1985
Herb Joesting	FB	1958	1925–1927
Pug Lund	RB	1958	1932–1934
Bobby Marshall	End	1971	1904–1906
John McGovern	QB	1966	1908–1910
Bronko Nagurski	T, FB	1951	1927–1929
Leo Nomellini	T, G	1977	1946–1949
Eddie Rogers	End	1968	1900–1903
Bruce Smith	RB	1972	1939–1941
Sandy Stephens	QB	2011	1959–1961
Clayton Tonnemaker	C	1980	1946–1949
Ed Widseth	T	1954	1934–1936
Dick Wildung	T	1957	1940–1942
Henry L. Williams	Head Coach	1951	1900–1921

^[35][36]

Pro Football Hall of Famers

Inductee	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

^[37]

Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Inductee	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

^[38]

Current professional players

NFL

Golden Gophers in the NFL
NFL Draft selections
Total selected:	333[39]
1st Round:	17[39]
NFL achievements
Total Players:	215[40]
Hall of Famers:	6[37]

Player	Position(s)	Draft Class	Current Team
Briean Boddy-Calhoun	CB	Undrafted in 2016	Cleveland Browns
De'Vondre Campbell	LB	2016	Atlanta Falcons
David Cobb	RB	2015	Chicago Bears
Eric Decker	WR	2010	New York Jets
Isaac Fruechte	WR	Undrafted in 2015	Minnesota Vikings
MarQueis Gray	TE	Undrafted in 2013	Miami Dolphins
Ra'Shede Hageman	DT	2014	Atlanta Falcons
Eric Murray	CB	2016	Kansas City Chiefs
Marcus Sherels	CB	Undrafted in 2010	Minnesota Vikings
Cedric Thompson	S	2015	Minnesota Vikings
Maxx Williams	TE	2015	Baltimore Ravens
Damien Wilson	LB	2015	Dallas Cowboys

^[41]

CFL

• Cedric McKinley - Defensive Tackle, Edmonton Eskimos
• Simoni Lawrence - Linebacker, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Season awards

	Bronko Nagurski	Bruce Smith	Carl Eller	Bobby Bell	Butch Nash	Paul Giel	Neil Fredenburg	Practice Squad		Tony Dungy	Gary Tinsley
Year	Team MVP	Outstanding Offense	Outstanding Defense	Outstanding Special Teams	Competitive on Classroom/Field	Unselfishness	Love of the Game	Offensive	Defensive	Character and Community Service	Embracing Underdog
1930	Clarence Munn
1931	Clarence Munn
1932	Roy Oen
1933	Francis "Pug" Lund
1934	Francis "Pug" Lund
1935	Vernal "Babe" LeVoir
1936	Ed Widseth
1937	Rudy Gmitro
1938	Larry Buhler
1939	Harold Van Every
1940	Bob Paffrath
1941	Bob Sweiger
1942	Dick Wildung
1943	Paul Mitchell
1944	John Lundquist
1945	Bob Fitch
1946	Billy Bye
1947	Larry Olsonoski
1948	Everette Faunce
1949	Bud Grant
1950	Wayne Robinson
1951	Ron Engel
1952	Paul Giel
1953	Paul Giel
1954	Bob McNamara
1955	Don Swanson
1956	Bobby Cox
1957	Dick Larson
1958	Everette Gerths
1959	Tom Moe
1960	Tom Brown
1961	Sandy Stephens
1962	Bobby Bell
1963	Carl Eller
1964	Joe Pung
1965	John Hankinson
1966	Tim Wheeler
1967	Tom Sakal
1968	Wayne King
1969	Ray Parson
1970	Jeff Wright
1971	Tom Chandler
1972	John King
1973	Matt Herkenhoff Steve Neils
1974	Ollie Bakken
1975	Tony Dungy
1976	Tony Dungy
1977	Steve Midboe
1978	Marion Barber Jr.
1979	Mark Carlson	Elmer Bailey	Keith Edwards
1980	Marion Barber Jr.	Garry White	Jeff Schuh
1981	Mike Hohensee	Chester Cooper	Randy Rasmussen
1982	Mike Horensee	Jim Fahnhorst	Karl Mecklenburg
1983	Randy Rasmussen	Jay Carroll	Peter Najarian
1984	Rickey Foggie	Mark Vondehaar	Peter Najarian	Larry Joyner	John Kelly	Dwayne McMullen
1985	Rickey Foggie	Ray Hitchcock	Peter Najarian	Chip Lohmiller	Andy Hare	David Puk
1986	Darrell Thompson	Darrell Thompson	Mark Dusbabek	Chip Lohmiller	Anthony Burke	Norries Wilson
1987	Rickey Foggie	Darrell Thompson	Jon Leverenz	Chip Lohmiller	Brian Bonner	Dan Rechtin
1988	Chris Gaiters	Chris Gaiters	Joel Brown	Brent Herbel	Ross Ukkelberg	Pat Hart
1989	Darrell Thompson	Darrell Thompson	Eddie Miles	Brent Berglund	Dan Liimatta	Jon Melander
1990	Mike Sunvold	Marquel Fleetwood	Mike Sunvold	Kenneth Sebree	Frank Jackson	Jim King
1991	Sean Lumpkin	Patt Evans	Sean Lumpkin	Ken McClintock	Joel Staats	Scott Schaffner
1992	Keith Ballard	Antonio Carter	Dennis Cappella	Jon Lewis	Russ Heath	Ken McClintock
1993	Omar Douglas	Omar Douglas	Andrew Veit	Scott Williams	Omar Douglas	Antonio Carter
1994	Chris Darkins	Chris Darkins	Craig Sauer	Rishon Early	Justin Conzemius	Ed Hawthorne
1995	Craig Sauer	Cory Sauter	Craig Sauer	Mike Chalberg	Justin Conzemius	Chris Darkins
1996	Ryan Thelwell Gann Brooks	Tutu Atwell	Parc Williams	Rishon Early	Cory Sauter	Jerome Davis
1997	Lamanzer Williams	Tutu Atwell	Lamanzer Williams	Tutu Atwell	Parc Williams	Cory Sauter		Michael Mullen	Curtese Poole
1998	Tyrone Carter	Luke Leverson	Tyrone Carter	Adam Bailey	Parc Williams	Troy Duerr		Scooter Baugus	Karon Riley
1999	Tyrone Carter	Thomas Hamner	Tyrone Carter	Dan Nystrom	Ben Mezera	Ben Hamilton	Sean Hoffman	Ben Utecht	DaVonta Bell
2000	Ben Hamilton Ron Johnson	Ron Johnson	Karon Riley	Preston Gruening	Ben Hamilton	Justin Hall	Sean Hoffman	Clarence Woods	Darrell Reid
2001	Ron Johnson	Ron Johnson Tellis Redmon	Jack Brewer	Marion Barber III	Derek Burns	Jack Brewer	Steve Murray	Jerry Macken	Charlton Keith
2002	Jermaine Mays	Terry Jackson II	Eli Ward	Jermaine Mays	Dan Kwapinski	Jeremiah Carter	Jeremiah Carter	Zack Kartak	Eric Clark Pat McCarthy Eric Washington
2003	Asad Abdul-Khaliq	Asad Abdul-Khaliq	Eli Ward	Rhys Lloyd	Greg Eslinger	Joe Quinn	Dan Kwapinski	Kevin Salmen	John Shevlin
2004	Marion Barber III Laurence Maroney	Marion Barber III	Darrell Reid	John Shevlin	Mark Setterstrom	Dominique Sims	Jakari Wallace	Tommy Jacobs	Seth Thompson
2005	Greg Eslinger Laurence Maroney	Greg Eslinger	John Pawielski	Jakari Wallace	Greg Eslinger	Mark Setterstrom	Matt Spaeth	Joe Swanson	Brody Grandas
2006	Matt Spaeth	Logan Payne	Mike Sherels	Tom Hennessey	Dominic Jones	Dom Barber	Mike Sherels	Matt Krueger	Mike Hart
2007	Dom Barber	Eric Decker	Dom Barber	Justin Kucek Nathan Triplett	John Shevlin Steve Shidell	Todd Meisel Tony Brinkhaus	Mike Sherels Justin Valentine	Kyle Moore	Andre Tate’	Amir Pinnix
2008	Willie VanDeSteeg	Adam Weber Eric Decker	Lee Campbell Garret Brown	Nathan Triplett	Jeff Tow-Arnett Marcus Sherels	Tony Mortensen Eric Small	Jack Simmons Kyle Theret	Matt Carufel	Kim Royston	Deon Hightower
2009	Eric Decker	Eric Decker	Lee Campbell	Jon Hoese	Jon Hoese Garrett Brown	Adam Weber Ryan Collado	Eric Small Lee Campbell Nick Tow-Arnett	Ed Olson	Aaron Hill	Eric Decker
2010	Adam Weber	Da'Jon Mcknight MarQueis Gray	Gary Tinsley	Troy Stoudermire	D.J. Burris Ryan Collado	Duane Bennett	Jon Hoese Anthony Jacobs	Lamonte Edwards	Cameron Botticelli	R.J. Buckner
2011	MarQueis Gray	MarQueis Gray	Kim Royston	Jordan Wettstein	Aaron Hill	Adam Lueck	Duane Bennett	Cole Banham	Jephte Matilus	Brandon Kirksey
2012	MarQueis Gray	Donnell Kirkwood	Michael Carter	Christian Eldred	Aaron Hill	MarQueis Gray	Mike Rallis	Cole Banham Mitch Leidner	Matt Garin Jack Lynn	Connor Cosgrove
2013	Ra'Shede Hageman	David Cobb	Ra'Shede Hageman	Peter Mortell	Jon Christenson	Brock Vereen Aaron Hill	Aaron Hill	Jephte Matilus	Chris Wipson	Chris Hawthorne	David Cobb
2014	David Cobb	David Cobb	Damien Wilson	Peter Mortell	Jon Christenson	Donnell Kirkwood	Mitch Leidner	Matt Leidner	Cody Poock	Luke McAvoy	Briean Boddy-Calhoun
2015	Mitch Leidner	Mitch Leidner	Eric Murray	Peter Mortell	Jon Christenson	Jon Christenson	Mitch Leidner	Conor Rhoda	Gary Moore Winston DeLattiboudere	Jon Christenson	Adekunle Ayinde

Other notable coaches and players

• Marion Barber Jr. - Retired NFL Running Back^[42]
• Phil Bengtson - Retired NFL Head Coach^[43]
• Rene Capo - Olympic judoka^[44]
• Gino Cappelletti - All-time AFL scoring leader^[45]
• Gil Dobie - Won two national championships as head coach of the Cornell Big Red football team^[46]
• Tony Dungy - Retired NFL Head Coach^[47]
• Verne Gagne - Professional wrestler; founder AWA^[48]
• Tony Levine - Head coach of the Houston Cougars football team^[49]
• Len Levy - American football player and professional wrestler^[50]
• Chip Lohmiller - Retired NFL Kicker^[51]
• Karl Mecklenburg - Retired NFL Linebacker^[52]
• Cory Sauter - Retired NFL Quarterback^[53]
• Darrell Thompson - Retired NFL Running Back, current Gopher football radio announcer^[54]
• Rick Upchurch - Retired NFL Wide Receiver^[55]
• DeWayne Walker - Current defensive backs coach Jacksonville Jaguars^[56]
• Murray Warmath - Last head coach to lead Minnesota to the Rose Bowl and National Championship^[57]
• Bud Wilkinson - Won three national championships as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football team^[58]
• Norries Wilson - Head Coach, Columbia Lions football team, first African American head football coach in the Ivy League^[59]
• Wayne Robinson Retired NFL linebacker, CFL and NFL coach

Future opponents

Big Ten West-division opponents

Minnesota plays the other six Big Ten West opponents once per season.

Even Numbered Years	Odd Number Years
vs Iowa	at Iowa
at Wisconsin	vs Wisconsin
at Nebraska	vs Nebraska
vs Northwestern	at Northwestern
at Illinois	vs Illinois
vs Purdue	at Purdue

Big Ten East-division opponents

Year	Indiana	Maryland	Michigan	Michigan State	Ohio State	Penn State	Rutgers
2016		AWAY				AWAY	HOME
2017		HOME	AWAY	HOME
2018	HOME	AWAY			AWAY
2019		HOME				HOME	AWAY

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of November 2, 2016^[60]

2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2025	2026	2027
vs Buffalo	vs Miami (OH)	vs South Dakota State	vs Miami (OH)	at Colorado	vs Colorado	at BYU	vs Mississippi State	at Mississippi State
at Oregon State	vs New Mexico State	at Fresno State	vs New Mexico State
vs Middle Tennessee	vs Fresno State	vs Georgia Southern

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minnesota Golden Gophers football.

• Official website