Per the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Sid Hartman, Minnesota will build a $70 million indoor practice facility for its football team with construction beginning in December.
The Gophers have been using an indoor practice facility built in 1985 that lags behind much of the Big Ten -- the ceiling isn’t high enough for punters to work, for instance. And given the general harshness of Minnesota winters (which stretch well into spring), it’d probably be a good thing if the Gophers had themselves a state-of-the-art indoor facility.
Minnesota has some decent momentum after reaching bowl games in back-to-back seasons under Jerry Kill, though the Gophers haven’t been ranked in the AP poll since 2008 and haven’t finished a season in the top 25 since 2003.