The Varsity Podcast Network
500 episodes listed below
Inside Minnesota athletics, one program at a time.
Golden Gopher Podcast is a Minnesota athletics feed built around program updates, coach interviews, and athlete-led perspective. Recent episodes move from gymnastics nationals to spring football, rowing, hockey, and NCAA tournament administration without losing the familiar Gopher frame.
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Golden Gopher Podcast is the official-feeling audio lane for Minnesota athletics, built around access rather than argument. It moves at the pace of a school year. Some days bring compact Golden Gopher Daily Update segments, with Mike Grimm or Mike Graham setting up one sport, one storyline, and one central voice. Other weeks bring longer Golden Gopher Podcast conversations led by Justin Gard, often pairing coaches and athletes from different programs. The result is broad coverage with a familiar house style. Recent episodes have spent serious time with women’s gymnastics as Minnesota prepared for the NCAA championship tournament in Fort Worth. Jenny Hansen talks about practices, goals, and the chance to become the highest-finishing team in program history. Ariana Ostrom adds the athlete view, focused on routines, confidence, visualization, and adjusting to college teammates. Football coverage is more developmental. Danny Collins talks about loading the defense with difficult situations, while Maverick Baranowski explains how linebackers learn the system beyond their own assignments. Drake Lindsey brings the quarterback side, turning a rough practice into film study, meetings, and another chance to improve. Hockey coverage introduces Brett Larson through memory and identity, tracing his love of the sport back to childhood pickup games in Duluth. The show also makes room for sports that rarely get the same oxygen elsewhere. Manon Field’s rowing interview gives shape to a career that began after running and grew into captaincy and Big Ten-level competition. Administration is part of the feed too, with Mark Coyle discussing NCAA tournament responsibilities, media exposure, selection weekend, and expansion questions. The show is not built for confrontation. It is built for continuity. Coaches are given space to explain. Athletes are allowed to sound reflective, practical, and unfinished. The tradeoff is that sponsor reads and Gopher Athletics framing are frequent, but for committed Minnesota fans, that same closeness is the point.
Made for: Built for Gopher fans who follow more than one Minnesota program and want direct context from coaches, athletes, and athletics leadership. It also suits local sports listeners who prefer steady program access over debate.
What sets it apart: The show’s strength is breadth inside a single athletics department: gymnastics, football, hockey, rowing, basketball administration, and daily updates all share one feed. It gives less-covered Minnesota teams the same patient interview treatment as marquee sports.
Get inside info on all things Gopher Athletics!
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Minnesota athletics comes into focus through detailed coach analysis and athlete interviews spanning basketball, hockey, gymnastics, and rowing.
Golden Gopher Podcast moves across Minnesota athletics without flattening every sport into the same conversation. The feed combines Justin Gard's interviews with athletes and coaches and focused coach shows led by Mike Grimm or Wally Shavers.
One feed gets you from late-game diagrams to a rower's accidental discovery of the sport.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A calm two-guest episode that works best when it stays out of the athletes' way.
Golden Gopher Podcast splits its time between gymnastics and rowing, and that mix gives the episode a steady Gopher feel. Jenny Hansen returns to talk through Minnesota's trip to nationals, while Manon Field traces how she found rowing, why she stayed with it, and what the end…
A clear first look at Brett Larson and the early shape of the Minnesota job.
The Golden Gopher Podcast offers a practical first look at Justin Gard's conversation with new men's hockey coach Brett Larson. It covers the search, the staff, and Larson's path through St.
A measured tournament-week conversation that works best as a family-backed portrait of Grace Grocholski.
Grace Grocholski gets a calm, roomy conversation that fits Minnesota's week hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. It starts with the practical pieces -- tickets, Williams Arena, and the first-round matchup -- then settles into how she arrived here.
A season-ending coach conversation with sharp late-game basketball detail.
The final Gopher Basketball Weekly of the year is a season-end chat with Nico Medved, and Grimm lets him slow down a little for once. The first Minnesota season moved fast, brought real injury trouble, and forced the staff to remake the team more than once.
Bob Motzko looks ahead to Penn State and the Big Ten semifinals after a 7-1 Thursday loss and an uneven regular-season finish.
Bob Motzko spends this Gopher Hockey Weekly installment on the end of the regular season and the turn toward playoffs. He comes back to the 7-1 Thursday loss, the turnovers and giveaways in their own end, and the uneven week around it.
A patient Gopher basketball check-in that turns one hot shooting night into a broader roster read.
Gopher Basketball Weekly with Nico Medved plays as a steady local check-in on where Minnesota stands after a rough night. Mike Grimm and Justin Gard lean on their usual banter early, and the basketball talk settles in after a bit of runway.
Bill Simmons debates NBA tanking, MVP races, and movies with Zach Lowe and friends.
Zach Lowe and ESPN colleagues dissect NBA trades, cap rules, and roster fit.
Big Cat and PFT Commenter cover the NFL, March Madness, and NHL for laughs.
Ryen Russillo runs weekly NFL and MLB recaps with beat reporters like Jeff Passan and Mike Sando.
Two hosts break down the ATP and WTA tour week, daily through every Grand Slam.
Race journalists and Damon Hill break down F1 driver markets, team history, and car tech.
University of Minnesota Athletics Director Mark Coyle discusses his role on the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee, the importance of March Madness, and issues like tournament expansion and media contracts.
This episode covers the Minnesota Golden Gopher women's gymnastics team competing in the NCAA championship tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, with an interview from head coach Jenny Hansen about their preparation and goals.
This episode previews the University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team competing in the NCAA National Championship, featuring an interview with freshman standout Ariana Ostrom about team and personal goals.
Nationals set the first beat.
This episode features defensive coordinator Danny Collins discussing the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team's spring practice focus on building defensive depth and preparing players through challenging situations.
This episode provides an update on the Golden Gopher football team's spring practice, featuring insights from senior linebacker Maverick Baranowski on defensive progress and coaching.
This is a brief Golden Gopher Daily Update segment hosted by Mike Grimm, focused on newly hired Minnesota men's hockey coach Brett Larson, who is two weeks into his role.
Daily update on Minnesota Golden Gophers football spring practice, including player interviews and team progress.
Justin Gard talks with new Gopher men's hockey coach Brett Larson as the hire settles in.
A daily update on Minnesota Golden Gophers football, featuring coach P.J.
This episode of the Golden Gopher Podcast features host Mike Graham discussing Minnesota football, including a spring practice open to the public and the addition of new offensive analyst Mike Shula.
A daily update on Minnesota Golden Gophers football, including spring practice insights and player interviews.
A daily sports update previewing the University of Minnesota women's gymnastics team's NCAA Regional competition.
A daily sports update featuring an interview with the new Minnesota women's hockey coach about his first week on the job and recruiting.
Host Justin Gard interviews Gopher women's basketball walk-on Bryn Senden about the team's Sweet 16 run and her family legacy at the University of Minnesota.
Minnesota earned hosting rights, and the episode treats it like a night worth circling.
A daily sports update previewing the Minnesota men's basketball game against Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament.
A daily update on Minnesota Golden Gophers athletics, focusing on the men's hockey team's upcoming Big Ten playoff game against Penn State.
The year went fast.
A daily update on Minnesota Golden Gophers athletics, featuring a recap of the men's basketball win over Northwestern and an interview with senior guard Langston Reynolds.
Host Justin Gard discusses upcoming NCAA tournaments for Gopher women's hockey and basketball, and interviews distance runner Zoe Dundon about her indoor 800-meter qualification.
Playoffs are here.
Daily update on University of Minnesota hockey, including game recaps and coach commentary.
A daily update previewing the Minnesota men's basketball game at Indiana, including a coach interview about the historic venue.
A daily update on University of Minnesota athletics, featuring a preview of the men's hockey series against Michigan State with coach commentary.
This episode covers updates on Minnesota Golden Gophers women's and men's basketball teams, including a player interview and upcoming game details.
A daily update on Minnesota Gophers athletics, focusing on upcoming men's and women's hockey games.
A daily update previewing the Minnesota men's basketball game against Michigan, including a coach interview and game details.
A weekly basketball show featuring interviews and analysis with the University of Minnesota men's basketball coach.
Coach Bob Motzko discusses the US men's hockey gold medal win at the Olympics and its impact on hockey culture.
This episode of Gopher Basketball Weekly features an interview with coach Nico Medved discussing the team's current road trip to Eugene, Oregon, including memories of past games and insights into the Big Ten schedule.
Associate head coach Steve Miller discusses the Gopher hockey team's recent weekend series against Notre Dame, analyzing their performance and preparation for upcoming games.
Preview of the Gopher baseball season with an interview of catcher Weber Neals.
Mike Grimm opens at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Bob Motzko and Wally Shaver recap a tough weekend for Gopher Hockey, analyzing losses to an opponent after a previous sweep.