BYRON, Minn. -- The Gophers athletics department went through the second leg of its new barnstorming tour this week, with stops in Rochester, Austin, Owatonna and Red Wing.
The Rochester event was technically in Byron, at the Somerby Golf Course. It coincided with the 40th annual Rochester Golf Outing, and about 300 people filled tables inside the banquet room, most of them wearing maroon and gold.
AD Norwood Teague, Jerry Kill, Richard Pitino, Don Lucia, Brad Frost, Hugh McCutcheon and several other coaches spoke. I was there for a football scheduling story but thought the whole 90-minute program was pretty entertaining.
Teague noted that Frost's women's hockey team finished 41-0 and joked, "We're looking for more out of him." M.C. Mike Grimm mentioned that the volleyball team made the Elite Eight last year and has the nation's third-ranked recruiting class. McCutcheon shrugged and said, "We've got a lot of work to do, but it's tough to win the derby on a donkey, right?"
Pitino and Lucia added some funny lines, and men's gymnastics coach Mike Burns spiced up the lunch program by walking to the podium -- on his hands.
Kill takes the mic
Kill talked last. He's given countless speeches to groups this size, and his comfort level showed. The native of tiny Cheney, Kansas, talked about how much he's enjoyed going around the state and getting to know Gophers fans.
"Two years ago, I didn't know much about Minnesota," said Kill, who was hired in December 2010. "What we have to do is create a football team that reflects you because it's your football team at the end of the day."