Goldy Gopher is the mascot for the University of Minnesota and the associated sports teams, known as the Golden Gophers, as well as a four-time UCA Mascot National Champion (2011, 2013, 2017, and 2018). During the year, Goldy makes over 1000 appearances and is at virtually all home games for University teams, usually wearing the appropriate sporting attire. The mascot is based on the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, colloquially referred to as a “gopher” in Minnesota.
Origins
thumb|The 1857 political cartoon from which Minnesota derived its nickname, "The Gopher State".
Minnesota became known as the "Gopher State" in 1857, the result of a political cartoon ridiculing the $5 million Railroad Loan which helped open up the West. The cartoon portrayed shifty railroad barons as striped gophers pulling a railroad car carrying the Territorial Legislature toward the "Slough of Despond". The first U of M yearbook bearing the name "Gopher Annual" appeared in 1887.
Minnesota's athletic teams became widely known as the "Gophers" by the 1920s, but it was not until 1934 that Halsey Hall, great Minnesota sportswriter and broadcaster, dubbed Bernie Bierman's all-gold uniformed team "The Golden Gophers". Bierman had chosen the gold color because the football blended in with the uniforms. This is often followed by chants of "Spin your body!", and occasionally "Spin your tail!", with Goldy abiding and spinning the respective body parts. 1990s hockey games also sometimes featured Goldy sledding down the entirety of the Mariucci Arena staircase, nearly 30 rows. The tradition has been reigned in since then for safety concerns, but Goldy can still be found sledding and snowboarding from reduced heights.
The style of the gopher suit changed many times through the years, sometimes by chance, sometimes by design. Until the early 1970s, the head was narrow and pointy-nosed, reminiscent of the real animal. Then in 1972, Goldy suddenly grew chubby cheeks and a wider, forward-looking face, almost cherubic in appearance. The gopher of the 1970s and early 1980s was comparable in appearance to a teddy bear, a favorite of children and grandmothers. For a brief period in 1985, a fierce-looking “mega-rodent“ appeared, with a barrel chest, clown feet and sinister eyes. This look didn't last long, and Goldy soon again became a lovable, friendly character.
The students that portray Goldy maintain anonymity throughout their tenure. They are also recognized as student athletes due to their vigorous schedule and amount of work that goes into it. Grooms, while driving to the University of Minnesota from Iowa, stopped at a rest stop and sketched what he thought were gophers. He presented the drawing to U of M bookstore manager Harold Smith, who loved it. Only after the image was put into production did it become realized that the animal drawn was actually a chipmunk.
In the 1950s, Goldy's look became more animated. In the 1960s and 1970s, Goldy became more slim and simplistic, and was often drawn wearing sporting equipment. In 1979, the University hired Bill Stein to draw a new look for Goldy, which consisted of the mascot waving and wearing a shirt. Some commented that this drawing of Goldy wasn't fierce enough as a college mascot, Responding to the criticism, the University's athletics department asked Wanvig in 1986 to tone down Goldy, who was then drawn in the same style, but without huge muscles and with a friendlier expression. This version of Goldy has been the one used since.
National competitions
UCA Mascot National Championships
Goldy also competes in the UCA Mascot National Championships and regularly makes the top 3. Goldy’s first win was in 2011 and followed up with championships in 2013, 2017, and 2018.
{| class="wikitable"
|+UCA National championship results
!Year
!Place
|-
!2007
||3rd
|-
!2008
||4th
|-
!2009
||3rd
|-
!2010
||3rd
|-
!2011
||1st
|-
!2012
||5th
|-
!2013
||1st
|-
!2014
||2nd
|-
!2015
||3rd
|-
!2016
||2nd
|-
!2017
||1st
|-
!2018
||1st
|-
!2019
||2nd
|-
!2020
|5th
|-
!2021
|N/A
|-
!2022
|4th
|-
!2023
|5th
|-
!2024
|5th
|-
!2026
|2nd
|-
|}
Capital One
Goldy was nominated to and made the 2004, 2007, and 2010 Capital One All-American Mascot Team. In 2007 Goldy finished second to Zippy from the University of Akron.
Goldy Gopher statue
thumb|left|The Goldy Gopher statue in front of Coffman Memorial Union
Due to the contributions from students, faculty, family, alumni, and friends, the University of Minnesota's Student Union was able to fund the creation of an all bronze statue of Goldy the Gopher. This was a controversial issue for some in the university community because of the rising costs of tuition and the university's concurrent appeals to the state legislature for a tuition freeze. The goal of the statue, located in the front of Coffman Memorial Union, was to promote school spirit and start new traditions. The University of Minnesota Administration hopes the iconic symbol will help students interact with the spirit and new traditions involving Goldy the Gopher. The statue is tall and made of bronze granite. Next to the statue is a solid granite "M" that is 63 inches in width, 24 Inches in depth, and 48 inches in height (160 x 61 x 122 cm). It was sculpted by Nicholas Legeros, who is a Minnesota graduate from the fine arts academy. He has sculpted many pieces for the Twin Cities Metro area. The total cost of the statue was $95,000.
On Monday, September 23, 2013, the Goldy statue was unveiled during the homecoming kickoff at noon - which happened to be Goldy Gopher's birthday. Governor Mark Dayton declared this day Goldy Gopher Day to create a new tradition for the students. Supposedly if someone was to rub Goldy's front teeth, it will bring them good luck.