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.

University of Minnesota Sports

• FOOTBALL.
• MEN'S BASKETBALL.
• WOMEN'S BASKETBALL.
• MEN'S BASEBALL.
• WOMEN'S SOFTBALL.
• WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL.
• WOMEN'S SOCCER.
• MEN'S HOCKEY.

Logo. The first official logo was made in the 1940s by sports merchandiser George Grooms, featuring a smiling "gopher" wearing a hat with the letter M on it. Grooms, while driving to the University of Minnesota from Iowa, stopped at a rest stop and sketched what he thought were gophers.

The Golden Gophers claim seven national championships: 1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, and 1960. Since 2009, the Golden Gophers have played all their home games at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

And we've been doing it for more than 150 years. Our world-class faculty are known for life-changing inventions such as the pacemaker, the retractable seat belt, cancer therapies, biodegradable plastics, and technologies that advance agricultural production.

As a top research university the U of M earned a spot in the top 50 schools by the 2020 Best Global Universities rankings. The University of Minnesota was named as a College that Pays You Back by Princeton Review in 2018.

The Land of 10,000 Lakes may be the most popular nickname for Minnesota, but it's also known as The State of Hockey - and for good reason. It's one of the most popular sports in Minnesota. Every year, more than 135,000 fans gather at the Xcel Energy Center for the Minnesota Boys State Hockey Tournament.

Student life: Students have abundant opportunities to get involved in on- and off-campus activities and organizations. Location: Minnesota - known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes - has natural beauty, four distinct seasons and many recreational and cultural opportunities.

The origin of the word "gopher" is uncertain; the French gaufre, meaning waffle, has been suggested, on account of the gopher tunnels resembling the honeycomb-like pattern of holes in a waffle; another suggestion is that the word is of Muskogean origin.

It featured one of the first search engines. Perhaps most importantly, Gopher helped transform the internet from something technical and academic to something accessible.

The origin of the word "gopher" is uncertain; the French gaufre, meaning waffle, has been suggested, on account of the gopher tunnels resembling the honeycomb-like pattern of holes in a waffle; another suggestion is that the word is of Muskogean origin.

It featured one of the first search engines. Perhaps most importantly, Gopher helped transform the internet from something technical and academic to something accessible.