Minnesota Golden Gophers
· 2026-07-04
The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team has ended its boycott and will play in the Holiday Bowl.
The team's decision comes after a meeting with university President Eric Kaler and athletic director Mark Coyle.
The boycott started with a demand for apologies and a threat to skip the bowl game if 10 teammates suspended after a sexual assault investigation weren't reinstated.
The university declined the players' request to reinstate the suspended players.
The team will now go ahead with its Dec. 27 game against Washington State in San Diego.
Receiver Drew Wolitarsky said the team understands that playing football for the University of Minnesota is larger than just them.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are set to play their next game vs Eastern Illinois Panthers on 2026-09-04.
The team is expected to be back to normal after the boycott.
Kaler said he is pleased that the football team has realized the opportunity to represent the university and come out strong in support of the victims of sexual violence.
The Holiday Bowl is one of the most lucrative and well-known of the second-tier bowl games.
The payout to the school was $2.8 million last year.
Bowl revenue is pooled and shared by conferences.
The Big Ten distributed more than $30 million to each of its 14 members last season.
Four players were initially suspended for three games earlier this season while the police investigated allegations by a woman.
No arrests or charges were made and the players were reinstated after a judge lifted a restraining order.
The university kept the details of the allegations private under federal law.
But players saw the 82-page report after KSTP-TV published it.
The details fractured the group's resolve.
Kaler and Coyle issued statements reiterating that they had no intention of changing their decision.
The university determined that the suspended players violated school conduct codes in an encounter involving a woman and several players at an off-campus dorm.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team is moving forward after the boycott.
The team is focused on its upcoming games.
The university is committed to supporting the victims of sexual violence.