When the University of Minnesota was founded as a preparatory school in 1851, Minnesota had been a territory for just two years, and statehood was still seven years away. The school was built on the east bank of the Mississippi River with little more than the pioneer's faith in education. The University has since grown into the single greatest center of creativity in the state.
AC: 612
Location: Minneapolis, MN 55455
Founded: 1851
Enrollment: 50,402
Nickname: Golden Gophers
Colors: Maroon & Gold
Arena: Mariucci Arena (200 x 100)
Arena Capacity: 10,000
Press Box Phone: 625-6900
The Gophers return 10 of their top 11 scorers from the 2008-09 squad and bring back 81.4 percent of their scoring. Minnesota returns all but 60 of its 322 points from last year and 46 of those points came from the team's leading scorer, Ryan Stoa, who left for the National Hockey League after his junior year.
A two-time national champion coach and one of five active Division I men's hockey coaches with more than 500 victories, Don Lucia enters his 11th season as the head coach at the University of Minnesota in 2009-10.
