Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling

Minnesota Golden Gophers
wrestling
University University of Minnesota
Head Coach Brandon Eggum (2nd season)
Conference Big Ten
Location Minneapolis, MN
Arena Sports Pavilion
(Capacity: 5,700)
Nickname Gophers
Colors Maroon and Gold[1]
         
NCAA individual national championships
2001, 2002, 2007[2]
Conference Tournament championships
1910, 1912, 1913, 1941, 1957, 1959, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are a Division I college wrestling team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a member of the Big Ten Conference and NCAA. Wrestling began at the University of Minnesota in 1910, but the first formal dual meet was not until 1921 when coach Frank Gilman led the team to a victory over Wisconsin. The Gophers have won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships team title three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2007. WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA Wrestling Championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999.

J Robinson coached the team for thirty years and led the Golden Gophers to three national championships until he was fired in 2016 over his handling of a prescription drug scandal involving his wrestlers.[3] Former Golden Gopher wrestler Brandon Eggum was named as his replacement.[4]

Home meets

Home meets are held in the 5,700-seat Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis. When large crowds are expected, meets are held in Williams Arena, capacity 14,321. This often happens for matches against archrivals Iowa and Oklahoma State. Several home matches each year are televised by the Big Ten Network. The school has also used Target Center in downtown Minneapolis for some matches.

Team championships

The 2001 team has two unique distinctions: All ten of their wrestlers earned All-American (top eight) status and the school won the national team championship despite not having a single finalist.

NCAA individual champions

The Gophers have had seventeen NCAA individual champions. Four of those were two-time champions.

  • John Whitaker: 1937
  • Dale Hanson: 1939 (Most Valuable Wrestler)
  • Leonard Levy: 1941
  • Verne Gagne: 1948, 1949
  • Dick Mueller: 1953
  • Evan Johnson: 1976
  • Pat Neu: 1977
  • Marty Morgan: 1991
  • Tim Hartung: 1998, 1999
  • Brock Lesnar: 2000
  • Luke Becker: 2002
  • Jared Lawrence: 2002
  • Damion Hahn: 2003, 2004
  • Dustin Schlatter: 2006
  • Cole Konrad: 2006, 2007
  • Jayson Ness: 2010
  • Tony Nelson: 2012, 2013

Dan Hodge Trophy

Olympians

References

  1. ↑ "Colors and Type | University Relations | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities". Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ History - Past Champions - NCAA.com
  3. ↑ Fuller, Marcus; Christensen, Joe (September 8, 2016). "J Robinson fired by University of Minnesota after 30 years as wrestling coach". Star Tribune.
  4. ↑ "Brandon Eggum". University of Minnesota.
  5. ↑ "Jayson Ness Wins Hodge Trophy". University of Minnesota Athletics. March 26, 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
  6. ↑ "Jayson Ness Wins Hodge Trophy". TheGuillotine.com. March 26, 2010. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
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