| Minnesota Golden Gophers The decision to favor the Big 10 brand over accuracy is understandable. In the 1985 book Public Ivies, nine of the Big 10’s 10 public institutions (Northwestern is the only private university in the conference) were deemed to “provide an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price.” Founded in 1896, the Big 10 is the oldest Division I college athletic conference in the United States. The conference as a whole provides nearly a hundred million dollars annually in direct financial aid to over eight thousand male and female student-athletes. In addition to the conference’s athletic prowess, it also has a well deserved reputation for high academic standards. Awesomeseating.com is your go-to broker for NCAA Basketball tickets. Whether you’re looking for cheap seats behind the backboards, a luxury sky-box or something closer to courtside, we’re your Awesome ticket broker for Minnesota Golden Gophers tickets for the basketball regular season and Minnesota Golden Gophers postseason tickets. Home court for the basketball Gophers is oft-renovated Williams Arena, which opened in 1928. Williams Arena is located at University and 19th Ave. SE in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the East Bank campus of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The Gophers have been Big 10 Men’s Basketball Champions eight times since 1906, but only twice in the post-World War II era, 1972 and 1982. The total would be higher but the team forfeited its 1997 championship after an academic scandal saw the school’s basketball achievements for 1994-1999 wiped from the NCAA record books. The violations involved then-head coach Clem Haskin, an academic adviser and a secretary who together did in excess of 400 pieces of course work for at least 18 student-athletes from 1994 to 1998. The forfeiture included the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ 1997 Final Four appearance, leaving a 1990 appearance in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament as the team’s highest achievement to date in the NCAA basketball official record book. The current head coach of the basketball Gophers is Tubby Smith, now in his second season. In 18 seasons as a head coach (University of Tulsa, 1991-95; University of Georgia, 1995-97; University of Kentucky, 1997-07, University of Minnesota, 2007-08) Coach Smith has compiled a 406-158 record. |