Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling

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.^[2] Robinson's career record at Minnesota was 437-134-4.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.

• 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.

The Gophers have had nineteen NCAA individual champions. Six of those were two-time champions.

• 2010: Jayson Ness^[5][6]
• 2021: Gable Steveson
• 2022: Gable Steveson

• 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