University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Smart (July-August, 2008)
9/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
August 28, 2008 From 2004-05, Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney became the first duo in NCAA history to each rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. The tandem combined for 2,617 yards and 23 scores in 2005.
August 27, 2008 Minnesota had perhaps its most successful athletic season in 1960-61. The football team captured its sixth national title while the baseball team won its second national crown in four years. The hockey team took third at the national tournament and swimmer Steve Jackman won the 100-yard freestyle NCAA championship, setting an American record.
August 23, 2008 Minnesota has won three Outland Trophies, honoring the best college interior lineman, which ranks fourth all-time behind Nebraska, Oklahoma and Ohio State. Minnesota's winners are Tom Brown (1960), Bobby Bell (1962) and Greg Eslinger (2005).
August 22, 2008 Four of Minnesota's first eight head football coaches were Yale graduates.
August 19, 2008 Two Gopher Basketball greats, Laura Coenen and Carol Peterka, were key contributors on multiple Team USA Handball teams in the Olympics. Both played on Team USA in 1988 (Seoul), 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta). Team USA made a sixth-place showing in the 1992 Games, a seventh-place finish in 1988 and a ninth-place finish in 1996. Peterka was the captain of the 1992 Team.
August 15, 2008 Chip Lohmiller set the NCAA record for the longest field goal indoors in 1986 when he booted a 62-yarder against Iowa at the Metrodome. The record still stands today and there have only been nine longer field goals in NCAA Division I history.
August 14, 2008 In 1909, John McGovern was named the best quarterback in the country and became the second Gopher to be named an All-American. Amazingly, except for one game, he played every minute of every game for three seasons at the U of M.
August 13, 2008 In 1904, Minnesota rolled to its most lopsided victory ever, a 146-0 thrashing of Grinnell. In this game, Minnesota broke what was referred to as "the world's record for scoring," the previous high being a 130-0 Michigan romp over West Virginia. The record stood for 13 years. The Gophers went on to a perfect season that year, winning 13 games.
August 12, 2008 Dr. Henry Williams was Minnesota's first full-time, salaried coach. He led the Gophers to the Big Nine title in his first season, 1900, and went on to record a 136-33-11 record and eight conference titles from 1900-21.
August 7, 2008 The Little Brown Jug, the rivalry trophy awarded annually to the winner of the Minnesota-Michigan football game, is the oldest rivalry trophy in Division I college football, dating back to 1909. Sixteen years passed before the next trophy game was created. In 1925, the Illibuck (Illinois-Ohio State), the Old Oaken Bucket (Indiana-Purdue) and the Beer Barrel (Kentucky-Tennessee) trophies were first contested for.
August 5, 2008 Gopher legend Bronko Nagurski earned All-America honors at three different positions in 1929. Sportswriters decided after the '29 season that he was the best fullback and the best tackle in the nation, making Nagurski the only player ever to be named a first team consensus All-American at two positions in the same season. Additionally, he was also named to some All-America teams as an end.
August 4, 2008 The Gopher women's hockey team won the national title in 2004, marking the first NCAA crown ever won by a University of Minnesota women's program.
July 30, 2008 With former Gopher volleyball greats Nicole Branagh (beach) and Lindsey Berg (indoor) earning berths on the 2008 U.S. Olympic teams in Beijing, Minnesota joins Long Beach State, Stanford and UCLA as the only schools to send Olympians to both the indoor and beach teams in the same year. UCLA did so in 1996, Long Beach State has done so in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 and Stanford did so in 1996, 2004 and 2008.
July 23, 2008 Former U.S. Supreme Court justice Warren Burger is a University of Minnesota graduate.
July 22, 2008 The first gene therapy for patients with Hunter Syndrome began at the University of Minnesota in 1996.
July 21, 2008 Two types of cherries, the Northstar (1950) and the Meteor (1952), were introduced at the University of Minnesota.
July 17, 2008 Minnesota head volleyball coach Mike Hebert is one of just three NCAA coaches to ever lead two different programs to multiple Final Fours. He took Minnesota to the 2003 and 2004 Final Fours and Illinois to the 1987 and 1988 Final Fours.
July 16, 2008 The Masonic Cancer Center on the U of M campus created the first animal model for studying and disabling cells responsible for causing bone cancer pain.
July 15, 2008 The University of Minnesota's College of Pharmacy is ranked third in the 2008 U.S. News and World Report's ranking of pharmacy programs. The rankings are based upon the results of peer assessment surveys sent to leaders in pharmacy colleges and schools across the country.
July 14, 2008 While the University of Minnesota was founded in 1851, the first president of the institution, William Watts Folwell, was inaugurated on December 22, 1869. The first bachelor degrees were awarded in 1873.
July 10, 2008 Thirteen buildings on the U of M, Twin Cities campus are are on the National Register of Historic Places.
July 9, 2008 Built in 1896, the Armory still stands toward the center of the U of M East Bank. The Armory was originally built for athletics and military drill, as well as performing arts and social activities. Memorial plaques at the front entrance honor students, faculty, and alumni who fought in the Spanish-American War.
July 8, 2008 In 2007, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked the University of Minnesota at 33 on the list of Academic Rankings of World Universities.
July 3, 2008 Paleontologist Robert Evan Sloan, a U of M professor from 1953 to 1997, discovered the oldest hoofed mammal in the world, a contemporary of the last dinosaurs, in an anthill in Montana.
July 1, 2008 Women's golf legend Patty Berg attended the University of Minnesota in the 1930s. The Minneapolis native went on to win 29 amateur titles and 57 events on the LPGA and WPGA circuits, including a record 15 majors. Berg was one of the 13 founding members of the LPGA in 1940 and was the first president from 1950-52.
August 27, 2008 Minnesota had perhaps its most successful athletic season in 1960-61. The football team captured its sixth national title while the baseball team won its second national crown in four years. The hockey team took third at the national tournament and swimmer Steve Jackman won the 100-yard freestyle NCAA championship, setting an American record.
August 23, 2008 Minnesota has won three Outland Trophies, honoring the best college interior lineman, which ranks fourth all-time behind Nebraska, Oklahoma and Ohio State. Minnesota's winners are Tom Brown (1960), Bobby Bell (1962) and Greg Eslinger (2005).
August 22, 2008 Four of Minnesota's first eight head football coaches were Yale graduates.
August 19, 2008 Two Gopher Basketball greats, Laura Coenen and Carol Peterka, were key contributors on multiple Team USA Handball teams in the Olympics. Both played on Team USA in 1988 (Seoul), 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta). Team USA made a sixth-place showing in the 1992 Games, a seventh-place finish in 1988 and a ninth-place finish in 1996. Peterka was the captain of the 1992 Team.
August 15, 2008 Chip Lohmiller set the NCAA record for the longest field goal indoors in 1986 when he booted a 62-yarder against Iowa at the Metrodome. The record still stands today and there have only been nine longer field goals in NCAA Division I history.
August 14, 2008 In 1909, John McGovern was named the best quarterback in the country and became the second Gopher to be named an All-American. Amazingly, except for one game, he played every minute of every game for three seasons at the U of M.
August 13, 2008 In 1904, Minnesota rolled to its most lopsided victory ever, a 146-0 thrashing of Grinnell. In this game, Minnesota broke what was referred to as "the world's record for scoring," the previous high being a 130-0 Michigan romp over West Virginia. The record stood for 13 years. The Gophers went on to a perfect season that year, winning 13 games.
August 12, 2008 Dr. Henry Williams was Minnesota's first full-time, salaried coach. He led the Gophers to the Big Nine title in his first season, 1900, and went on to record a 136-33-11 record and eight conference titles from 1900-21.
August 7, 2008 The Little Brown Jug, the rivalry trophy awarded annually to the winner of the Minnesota-Michigan football game, is the oldest rivalry trophy in Division I college football, dating back to 1909. Sixteen years passed before the next trophy game was created. In 1925, the Illibuck (Illinois-Ohio State), the Old Oaken Bucket (Indiana-Purdue) and the Beer Barrel (Kentucky-Tennessee) trophies were first contested for.
August 5, 2008 Gopher legend Bronko Nagurski earned All-America honors at three different positions in 1929. Sportswriters decided after the '29 season that he was the best fullback and the best tackle in the nation, making Nagurski the only player ever to be named a first team consensus All-American at two positions in the same season. Additionally, he was also named to some All-America teams as an end.
August 4, 2008 The Gopher women's hockey team won the national title in 2004, marking the first NCAA crown ever won by a University of Minnesota women's program.
July 30, 2008 With former Gopher volleyball greats Nicole Branagh (beach) and Lindsey Berg (indoor) earning berths on the 2008 U.S. Olympic teams in Beijing, Minnesota joins Long Beach State, Stanford and UCLA as the only schools to send Olympians to both the indoor and beach teams in the same year. UCLA did so in 1996, Long Beach State has done so in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 and Stanford did so in 1996, 2004 and 2008.
July 23, 2008 Former U.S. Supreme Court justice Warren Burger is a University of Minnesota graduate.
July 22, 2008 The first gene therapy for patients with Hunter Syndrome began at the University of Minnesota in 1996.
July 21, 2008 Two types of cherries, the Northstar (1950) and the Meteor (1952), were introduced at the University of Minnesota.
July 17, 2008 Minnesota head volleyball coach Mike Hebert is one of just three NCAA coaches to ever lead two different programs to multiple Final Fours. He took Minnesota to the 2003 and 2004 Final Fours and Illinois to the 1987 and 1988 Final Fours.
July 16, 2008 The Masonic Cancer Center on the U of M campus created the first animal model for studying and disabling cells responsible for causing bone cancer pain.
July 15, 2008 The University of Minnesota's College of Pharmacy is ranked third in the 2008 U.S. News and World Report's ranking of pharmacy programs. The rankings are based upon the results of peer assessment surveys sent to leaders in pharmacy colleges and schools across the country.
July 14, 2008 While the University of Minnesota was founded in 1851, the first president of the institution, William Watts Folwell, was inaugurated on December 22, 1869. The first bachelor degrees were awarded in 1873.
July 10, 2008 Thirteen buildings on the U of M, Twin Cities campus are are on the National Register of Historic Places.
July 9, 2008 Built in 1896, the Armory still stands toward the center of the U of M East Bank. The Armory was originally built for athletics and military drill, as well as performing arts and social activities. Memorial plaques at the front entrance honor students, faculty, and alumni who fought in the Spanish-American War.
July 8, 2008 In 2007, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked the University of Minnesota at 33 on the list of Academic Rankings of World Universities.
July 3, 2008 Paleontologist Robert Evan Sloan, a U of M professor from 1953 to 1997, discovered the oldest hoofed mammal in the world, a contemporary of the last dinosaurs, in an anthill in Montana.
July 1, 2008 Women's golf legend Patty Berg attended the University of Minnesota in the 1930s. The Minneapolis native went on to win 29 amateur titles and 57 events on the LPGA and WPGA circuits, including a record 15 majors. Berg was one of the 13 founding members of the LPGA in 1940 and was the first president from 1950-52.
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