The University of Minnesota has announced that its annual spring football game will take place on Saturday, April 25 at Huntington Bank Stadium. Admission to the event will once again be free, giving fans an early opportunity to see the 2026 Golden Gophers in action.
Specific details surrounding the event including kickoff time, gate openings, parking logistics, pregame festivities and broadcast information will be shared at a later date. Even without those finalized plans, the spring game continues to serve as a celebration of Gopher football and a chance for the community to reconnect with the program following the offseason.
As has become tradition under head coach P.J. Fleck, the spring game will again feature two meaningful fan-driven initiatives: the decorated oar display and the annual diaper drive.
Fans are encouraged to bring a personally decorated oar to the game. Over the years, these customized oars have become a powerful symbol inside the stadium. After being collected, they are installed in the tunnel the team walks through on its way from the locker room to the field. The oars line the walls of that narrow passageway, creating an emotional and visual reminder of the support behind the program. For players, those messages and designs are the final images they see before taking the field on game day — a direct connection between the team and the broader Minnesota community.
In addition to the oar tradition, the program will once again host its annual diaper drive. Since the initiative began in 2017, Gopher fans have donated more than 120,000 diapers to families in need. Supporters attending the spring game are asked to bring diaper donations and drop them off outside the stadium near Tribal Nations Plaza, located outside the West Plaza entrance.
All collected diapers will be donated to the Diaper Bank of Minnesota, which distributes essential supplies to community members facing financial hardship.