Goldy Gopher, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities mascot.

Goldy Gopher is the mascot for the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus and the associated sports teams, known as the Golden Gophers. Image File history File links Goldy Gopher, (http://www. ... Image File history File links Goldy Gopher, (http://www. ... Mascots at the Mascot Olympics in Orlando, FL. A mascot is something, typically an animal or human character used to represent a group with a common identity, such as a school, professional sports team, or corporation. ... University of Minnesota, Twin Cities This article is about the oldest and largest campus of the University of Minnesota. ... Goldy the Gopher is the team mascot The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. ...

During the year, Goldy makes over 1000 appearances and is at virtually all home games for University Teams, and this year was nominated and made the 2004 Capital One All-American Mascot Team.

Goldy also competes in the UCA Mascot National Championships, and regularly makes the top 10. He placed 3rd in 2005.

In a comparison between Goldy and several kinds of rodent, the gopher was judged to look least like Goldy -- the results judged that his appearance was closest to a chipmunk or squirrel. Another animal Goldy is claimed to look like is the beaver, due to the buck teeth and tail. These inaccuracies are due to the fact that when the gopher was declared the mascot of the University, the artist hired to create the mascot did not know what a gopher looked like. As a replacement, he drew some furry animals he saw at a rest stop, which were actually chipmunks. There was no official mascot until 1977. The original mascot was more aggressive looking, but was revamped in 1986 when the athletics department was trying to change its image. However, Goldy still retained most of the characteristics of a chipmunk. Families See Classification Section The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. ... Gopher may mean: Gopher (animal), including: True gopher, i. ... Species 23 species, see text Chipmunk is the common name for any small squirrel-like rodent species of the genus tamias in the family Sciuridae. ... Genera Many, see the article Sciuridae. ... Species C. canadensis C. fiber Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents native to North America and Europe. ...

References

• Guidera, Thomas (2004) Is Goldy Really a Gopher?
• 2004 CapitalOne Mascot Bowl
• UCA Mascot National Championships [1]