50 Years broadcasting Gophers athletics. Christensen started with Gophers football and basketball in 1951. 510 Gophers football games Christensen announced. 1,309 Gophers basketball games called by Christensen over 45 years. Christensen was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2002 and received the Chris Schenkel Award, presented by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in honor of a distiguished broadcasting career, in 2000.