Minnesota is about to step into a little bit of college football history this weekend, and not just because Mississippi State is coming to town.
The Gophers’ matchup with the Bulldogs on Saturday, which will be shown on CBS, brings a rare SEC visitor to Minneapolis. Minnesota hasn’t hosted an SEC opponent since Vanderbilt came to town in 1959, and the last time the Gophers played one was the 2019 Outback Bowl win over Auburn. Mississippi State also arrives with a young two-way quarterback in Kamario Taylor, who opened the season by throwing for 354 yards and 4 TDs and adding 59 yards and another TD on the ground.
But the biggest off-field first for Minnesota football is sitting on the back of the helmet.
On Friday morning, the athletic department announced a new partnership with Visible, described in the release as a “digital-first wireless carrier powered by Verizon’s network.” Starting September 12, the Visible logo will appear on the back of every Minnesota football helmet, making the Gophers one of the first programs in college athletics - and the first Learfield university partner - to place a corporate brand on its football helmet.
“Helmet branding represents a new opportunity in college sports, and Minnesota is one of the first programs to bring this to life with a national brand,” said Kim Damron, President of Sports Properties at Learfield. “Mark and his team at Gopher Athletics continue to demonstrate leadership in how they approach new opportunities to generate meaningful value for their brand partners, their programs and their student-athletes to support the continued success of Gopher Athletics.”
The move gives Minnesota another revenue stream at a time when the athletic department is working through a $9 million budget deficit. That number is significant, even if it looks modest next to some schools around the country that are reportedly running deficits five times that size every year.
Still, the hunt for more money is clearly not over. Athletic director Mark Coyle has been focused on the next big opportunity, and the jersey patch deal is the one still out there.
The NCAA approved jersey patch sponsors for the first time this season, and other schools have already moved quickly - Wisconsin with Culver’s, Ohio State with Chase Bank. Sports Business Journal reported that around 70 schools have already signed jersey patch deals.
For now, though, Minnesota is taking the helmet route first. The Gophers have chosen to wait on a jersey patch decision while they sort through whether one company could sponsor all sports or whether each program will land its own deal. Coyle said last week on KFAN Radio, before Minnesota’s opener against Eastern Illinois, that those discussions are still ongoing.
In Other News...
Gophers Just Crossed A New Branding Line Fans Will Debate
The Gophers are about to take a small but highly visible step into a new era of college sports branding. For the current season, Minnesota football helmets will carry a Visible logo sponsorship sticker on the bottom rear, a placement made possible by a new NCAA rule that now allows commercial logos on equipment. The deal was negotiated by Learfield on behalf of the athletics department, and it extends beyond football with additional branding tied to the schools basketball and hockey programs.
Minnesota will debut the helmet look in its upcoming game against Mississippi State, giving fans their first chance to see how the change lands on the field. For an athletic department trying to keep pace with the financial realities of modern college sports, it is the kind of move that makes business sense even if it invites plenty of debate from supporters who still want their teams gear to look as clean and classic as possible. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Are Bringing A First To Their Helmets This Season
College football uniforms are entering a new era, and Minnesota is stepping into it in a notable way. Gopher Athletics and Learfields Gopher Sports Properties announced a partnership with Visible that will make the company the first-ever helmet bumper partner for Minnesota football, a move that puts the Visible logo on the back of every Golden Gophers helmet starting Sept. 12.
The change will debut during a nationally televised game against Mississippi State, giving Minnesota a high-profile showcase for a sponsorship that follows the NCAAs recent approval of commercial logos on college athletic uniforms. For the Gophers, it is another sign of how quickly branding opportunities are expanding in college sports, with the helmet now serving as more than just team identity on Saturdays. [Read more 🡒]
Why One Outside Voice Is Suddenly High On Minnesota
A national TV voice spent part of the preseason in Minneapolis and came away thinking the Gophers might be capable of more than the usual cautious Big Ten preview talk. CBS analyst Charles Davis said he liked what he saw in Minnesotas practices, pointing to a roster that looks sturdy enough on both sides of the ball to at least put itself in the conversation near the top of the conference.
The lens gets sharper this week with Mississippi State coming to town, because Davis also sees a game that could turn on the line of scrimmage and on how Minnesota handles quarterback Kamario Taylor. His read is that the Gophers have a real opportunity if they can force mistakes and make the Bulldogs pay in the moments where the game tilts, which is exactly the sort of early-season test that can tell you whether the optimism is real. [Read more 🡒]