How the U got the Golden Gopher nickname
It is actually a very interesting story in itself
Most of the current Gopher students may not know that the Gophers were once football powerhouses. At least those Gopher students that aren’t football fans might not know this. But who am I to judge? A trip to TCF Bank Stadium will enlighten any uninformed Gopher fan that the University of Minnesota won many national championships. The problem is that it all happened before 1960.
The state of Minnesota was not always known as the Gopher State. It was actually once called the Beaver State. But a satirical cartoon that portrayed Minnesota politicians with gophers on their heads changed everything.