Gophers associate head men's hockey coach Mike Guentzel was on his way to work last week when, for the first time, he thought about life after hockey. He thought about finally utilizing his University...

Gophers goaltender Willy Marvin has spent the last three years sitting on the end of the bench, waiting for his chance to play. This was supposed to be his year, but instead he has watched freshman Adam...

At first glance, the hitting and machismo that abound in hockey might seem unnecessary or even flagrant -- the madness of men in oversized shorts. Fans groan when a player takes a particularly vicious...

Gophers associate head coach Mike Guentzel bangs his melon on the Plexiglas behind the bench as his power play unit ignores the shot and maneuvers for a better look at the net. Even the fans in Mariucci...

CHICAGO -- The public, the players and the coaches have all cried for years about how college football does not have a true national championship game. At the 27th annual Big Ten Conference Kickoff Luncheon...

CHICAGO -- Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said Thursday he recently initiated contact with Notre Dame about entering the conference in the near future. He said the move, which is the second attempt since...

Three Gophers athletes received awards from the Midwest Sports Channel on Thursday night at the Target Center. Minnesota soccer player Jennifer McElmury, wrestler Tim Hartung and football player Ryan...

Gophers track athletes Vesa Rantanen and Steffan Strand were named third team Academic All-American last week. The two were key components to helping Minnesota win the indoor and outdoor Big Ten track...

Gophers senior diver Andrea Berg placed fourth in a field of 39 divers in the 3-meter competition at the United States Zone Diving championships in Beaverton, Ore. Berg's finish earned her a spot in the...

The Gophers football team underwent serious reconstructive measures during the winter and came out with a new group of coaches, a bunch of new players and different offensive and defensive plans for next...

Gophers pole vaulter Tye Harvey broke his own school record en route to placing second at the NCAA indoor track championships in Indianapolis on Saturday. Harvey's vault of 18 feet, 2 1/2 inches was surpassed...

The Gophers women's tennis team began is Big Ten season Friday with a 7-0 sweep of Purdue at the 98th Street Racquet Club in Bloomington. The sweep was Minnesota's first during the regular season since...

A timeline of some of the important events in Wacker's tenure as the Gophers football coach: Dec. 23, 1991 -- Jim Wacker is hired as Minnesota's 23rd football coach. He comes into the program following...

The University's women's athletics department announced earlier this week the names of three finalists who could be the first Gophers women's hockey coach when the inaugural season opens next fall. Bill...

Former Gophers hockey player Cory Laylin scored the game-winning goal in a sudden death shootout Monday night to give the Minnesota Arctic Blast a 7-6 win over Empire State. The victory assured the Blast...

Former Gophers golfer Tom Lehman was stuck in a four-way tie for 15th place going into Sunday's final round of the PGA Championships at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., and stayed there in the...

Former Gophers hockey player Justin McHugh has scored four goals and notched five assists for Team USA, which is playing in the In-Line World Championships this week. The Americans are 4-0 going into...

Former Gophers running back Chris Darkins, now with the Green Bay Packers, decided Tuesday that he will undergo shoulder surgery and miss the 1996 NFL season. Darkins dislocated his left shoulder during...

Since former Gophers slotback Tony Levine graduated from the University on June 3, he has been like a newborn puppy, sniffing out every opportunity that comes his way. And, for Levine, who by December...

Gophers basketball coach Clem Haskins was in earshot of the pipe bomb explosion in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Haskins, who is an assistant coach and chief administrator of the U.S. men's basketball...

Gophers wrestler Brandon Paulson is little, confident and bald -- a weird combination for a Minnesotan. But the 114.5-pound Anoka native proved Tuesday that it's a perfect one for a 1996 Olympic Greco-Roman...

Former Gophers hockey player and Minnesota Arctic Blast captain Cory Laylin led the team with two goals and two assists Saturday to give the Blast an 8-7 win. The victory extended the squad's winning...

Coralea Brown-Cline dreamed of going to the Olympics for her native Canada throughout her childhood. But after a number of setbacks, the former Gophers standout in the high jump stored her ambitions until...

Former Gophers hockey players and Minnesota Arctic Blast teammates Cory Laylin and Randy Skarda were named to the Roller Hockey International All-Star team, which will play July 8 in Anaheim, Calif. The...

The new hockey and tennis facility will be located where the 14 outdoor tennis courts next to Mariucci Arena stand right now. Women's athletics director Chris Voelz said that space will be utilized by...

In about two years, Mariucci Arena will have a brand new baby sister sitting just west of it. The facility will be home to women's ice hockey and men's and women's tennis. The arena is not even in the...

The Gophers hockey team is in slight danger of losing three major components to last season's squad. There is a possibility, however, that all three will be back. First, assistant coach Mike Guentzel...

Last season's Gophers track tri-captain Paul Michalek finished third in the first heat of the 1,500-meter run Monday at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta. He finished the race in 3:46.77. Despite his...

Former Gophers golfer Tom Lehman shot a five-under-par 65 on Saturday at Oakland Hills Country Club in the U.S. Open. He had the lead going into the final round on Sunday but lost it on the back nine. Lehman...

The Gophers signed another hockey phenom from Bloomington on Wednesday. Only this one is from Kennedy High School rather than Jefferson. Forward Cory Miller, who graduated from Kennedy in 1994 and played...

Gophers baseball coach John Anderson confirmed Tuesday that he was recommended for the head coaching vacancy at South Carolina by former coach and Minnesota alumnus Jerry Kindall. Anderson said, however,...

The Minnesota State High School Baseball Tournament starts Thursday and will feature four Class AA teams at Siebert Field. Brainerd (21-4) and Rosemount (19-7) will square off at 10 a.m. in the first...

After 10 years as J Robinson's head assistant coach on the Gophers wrestling team, the time has come for Dave Grant to move on. Last week Grant accepted a head coaching job at Northern Illinois, which...

The Gophers baseball team played its final game of the 1996 regular season Monday knowing there would be no practice the following week. Minnesota is not accustomed to being left out of the Big Ten playoffs,...

Big Ten baseball coaches picked the all-conference teams Tuesday, and Gophers coach John Anderson was somewhat surprised by the results. Leading the list of Minnesota players was senior Rob Smith, who...

The Gophers baseball team ended its season Monday with a crescendo, winning 3-2 at Siebert Field against Iowa. Minnesota (15-12 in the Big Ten, 30-26 overall) won its last three games to finish the conference...

Sometimes selfishness can take a team a long way. At least it did for the Gophers baseball team this weekend. Minnesota (14-12 in the Big Ten, 29-26 overall) was virtually eliminated from postseason play...

The Gophers baseball team wrapped up the 1996 nonconference season Thursday night at Siebert Field with a 15-4 win against St. Olaf. Both teams were held scoreless until the second inning when right fielder...

The Gophers baseball team had just won its third of four games at Northwestern, and after shaking hands with the Wildcats the team gathered in a huddle around senior third baseman Rob Smith. The Menomonie,...

What a terrible way for the St. Cloud State baseball team to end its 1996 season -- a 19-6 loss to the Gophers at Siebert Field on Tuesday. The Huskies, who are not playoff bound after going 4-8 in the...

For Gophers baseball coach John Anderson, getting swept in a three-game series at No. 10 Florida State last weekend never felt so good. There were many pluses resulting from the way Minnesota played,...

Gophers women's track and field coach Gary Wilson feels no need for optimism about this weekend's Big Ten Indoor championships. He knows it's going to be ugly. "We're going to be ninth or 10th this weekend,"...

Gophers pole vaulter Vesa Rantanen is known to shoot hoops from time to time during track practice at the east end of the University Field House. His excuse is that basketball is a training regiment,...