TCF Bank Stadium Inaugural Game Ceremonies Begin Friday

Numerous ceremonies and events to commemorate the opening of TCF Bank Stadium are on tap, beginning Friday and running all the way through halftime of the contest between Minnesota and the United States Air Force Academy.

The festivities begin Friday night with a dedication ceremony for the Veterans Tribute at TCF Bank Stadium. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.

The dedication program will feature a flyover from three WWI “œreplica” airplanes and performances from the Metropolitan Boys Choir, the U of M Marching Band and Dorothy Benham, Miss America 1977. Military leaders including General John W. Vessey (ret.), Former Chairman, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be in attendance. The Veterans Tribute at TCF Bank Stadium honors all Minnesota veterans of past, present and future conflicts. The tribute is located on the southwest corner of the stadium, between the main scoreboard and Gate E.

More than 400 former Gopher players will be in attendance at Saturday’s game. They will take part in a picnic at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex from 1-3 p.m. in the afternoon. Those former student-athletes will be on the field prior to the game and will be honored and acknowledged as the Gophers leave the field following pre-game warm-ups.

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:20 p.m. at the TCF Bank Stadium Student Entrance.

During the pre-game ceremonies, the Air Force Falcon and a bald eagle from the University of Minnesota Raptor Center will be on the field. As Air Force takes the field, a video tribute honoring the U.S. armed forces and featuring the Air Force will be shown on the video boards.

Following the National Anthem, four F-16 fighter jets will perform a fly-over.

Nine Gopher legends will serve as honorary captains, while former head coach Murray Warmath will be the honorary coach. The following is a look at the honorary captains: Bernie Bierman (represented by James Bierman); Bobby Bell; Billy Bye (represented by Julianne Bye); Paul Giel (represented by Paul Giel Jr.); Bud Grant; Bob McNamara; Bronko Nagurski (represented by Bronko Nagurski Jr.); Bruce Smith (represented by son Bruce Smith); and Sandy Stephens (represented by Raymond Stephens).

At halftime, the pilots of the F-16s who took part in the pre-game fly-over will be introduced and honored. Following the halftime ceremonies, legendary Minnesota broadcaster Ray Christensen will call the first series of the second half on the Gopher Radio Network.

Talk about the first game in TCF Bank Stadium on Brew’s Crew message board.