The Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling program is an intercollegiate varsity sport at the University of Minnesota. They are a member of the Big Ten Conference and NCAA. The Gophers have won the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship team title three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2007.
History
Wrestling began at the University of Minnesota in 1910, but the first formal dual meet was not until 1921, when coach Frank Gilman led the team to a victory over Wisconsin.
J Robinson served as head coach for the team for thirty years, from 1986 to 2016. He led the Golden Gophers to three NCAA Division I national championships during his tenure, winning in 2001, 2002, and 2007. Robinson's tenure ended in 2016, when he was fired over his handling of a prescription drug scandal involving his wrestlers. Robinson's career record at Minnesota was 437-134-4.J Robinson - M Club Hall of Fame. gophersports.com. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
On January 26, 2017, three-time Golden Gopher All-American Brandon Eggum was named as the programs head coach. Eggum has been on the Minnesota wrestling coaching staff since the 2000–2001 season.Brandon Eggum - Wrestling Coach. University of Minnesota Athletics. Retrieved July 26, 2026.
Home meets Home meets are held in the 5,700-seat Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis. When large crowds are expected, meets are held in Williams Arena, which has a capacity of 14,625. This often happens for matches against archrivals Iowa and Oklahoma State. Several home matches each year are televised by the Big Ten Network. The school has also used Target Center in downtown Minneapolis for some matches.
Team championships NCAA Division I: 2001, 2002, 2007 Big Ten Conference: 1913, 1941, 1957, 1959, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007
The 2001 national championship team has two unique distinctions: all ten wrestlers in each weight class earned All-American (top eight) honors and the school won the national team championship despite not having a single finalist.
NCAA individual champions The Gophers have had nineteen NCAA individual champions. Six of those were two-time champions.
John Whitaker: 1937 Dale Hanson: 1939 (Most Valuable Wrestler) Leonard Levy: 1941 Verne Gagne: 1948, 1949 Dick Mueller: 1953 Evan Johnson: 1976 Pat Neu: 1977 Marty Morgan: 1991 Tim Hartung: 1998, 1999 Brock Lesnar: 2000 Luke Becker: 2002 Jared Lawrence: 2002 Damion Hahn: 2003, 2004 Dustin Schlatter: 2006 Cole Konrad: 2006, 2007 Jayson Ness: 2010 Tony Nelson: 2012, 2013 Gable Steveson: 2021, 2022 Max McEnelly: 2026
Dan Hodge Trophy
2010: Jayson Ness 2021: Gable Steveson 2022: Gable Steveson
Olympians Minnesota wrestlers in the OlympicsYearNameCountryStyleWeight ClassPlace1948 LondonVerne GagneFreestyle87 kgALT1956 MelbourneAlan RiceGreco-Roman62 kgDNP1976 MontrealGary AlexanderGreco-Roman62 kgDNP1976 MontrealJames "Evan" JohnsonGreco-Roman90 kg7th1976 MontrealDan ChandlerGreco-Roman82 kgDNP1980 MoscowDan ChandlerGreco-Roman82 kgBoycott1984 Los AngelesDan ChandlerGreco-Roman82 kgDNP1984 Los AngelesJim MartinezGreco-Roman68 kgBronze1988 SeoulEvan BernsteinGreco-Roman90 kgDNP1996 AtlantaBrandon PaulsonGreco-Roman52 kgSilver1996 AtlantaGordy MorganGreco-Roman74 kg9th1996 AtlantaDavid ZunigaGreco-Roman62 kg10th2000 SydneyGarrett LowneyGreco-Roman97 kgBronze2004 AthensGarrett LowneyGreco-Roman96 kg19th2008 BeijingJake DeitchlerGreco-Roman66 kg12th2020 TokyoGable StevesonFreestyle125 kgGold
Notable Minnesota wrestlers
Gary Alexander – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1976 Summer Olympics Evan Bernstein – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1988 Summer Olympics Norman Borlaug – Wrestled for the Golden Gophers in the 1930s; went on to be recognized as the "Father of the Green Revolution" and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dan Chandler – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1976, 1980, and 1984 Summer Olympics Jake Deitchler – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 2008 Summer Olympics Verne Gagne – two-time NCAA Champion and Olympic freestyle wrestling alternate at 1948 Summer Olympics James "Evan" Johnson – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1976 Summer Olympics, NCAA Champion and two-time finalist Cole Konrad – MMA fighter, first Bellator Heavyweight World Champion, two-time NCAA Champion and three-time finalist Nik Lentz – UFC fighter Brock Lesnar – UFC Heavyweight Champion, professional wrestler, NCAA Champion and two-time finalist Leonard Levy – NFL player, professional wrestler, NCAA Champion Garrett Lowney – Olympic bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at 2000 Summer Olympics James Martinez – Olympic bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1984 Summer Olympics, NCAA All-American Gordy Morgan – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1996 Summer Olympics, NCAA All-American Marty Morgan – NCAA Champion and three-time All-American at Minnesota Brandon Paulson – Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1996 Summer Olympics, NCAA All-American Alan Rice – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1956 Summer Olympics Dustin Schlatter – NCAA Champion and three-time All-American Gable Steveson – Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at 2020 Summer Olympics, professional wrestler, NFL player, two-time NCAA Champion and three-time All-American, two-time Hodge Trophy winner Jacob Volkmann – UFC fighter, three-time NCAA All-American David Zuniga – Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling at 1996 Summer Olympics
References
External links