Goldy Gopher: A Vignette
Whether he’s busy spinning his head in the endzone of TCF Bank Stadium or scooting around campus on a moped, Goldy Gopher is a national treasure—er, should we say, a University-wide treasure. But where did all of this gopher business begin?
The origin of our golden mascot
Although the Goldy mascot we know and love hit campus lawns in the 1940s, the University’s first tie to gophers came when Minnesota was dubbed the “Gopher state” in 1857.
In the 1930s, the University of Minnesota football team became known as the Golden Gophers, and 1952 brought the first Goldy mascot when an assistant bandmaster bought a fuzzy wool suit and asked one of the marching band members to climb into it. Thus, Goldy Gopher was born.
Goldy through the years
1954
1977
1990
2019
Rub-a-dub
A newly minted tradition on campus has to do with rubbing Goldy’s teeth, more specifically those of the statue in front of Coffman Memorial Union.
Goldy Sighting: Where can you find him?
Visit the CSE college-wide events page to learn more about our events
