Brock Lesnar returning to Gophers as honorary coach against Badgers

The WWE champ will serve as an honorary coach.
Brock Lesnar returning to Gophers as honorary coach against Badgers
Brock Lesnar returning to Gophers as honorary coach against Badgers /

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Maturi Pavilion will be the place to be for Gopher fans Friday night as ex-Minnesota wrestling champion Brock Lesnar will be on hand for Minnesota's duel versus Big Ten rival Wisconsin. 

Lesnar will serve as an honorary coach for the Gophers as the university celebrates the 20-year anniversary of Lesnar's individual heavyweight championship in 2000. In that championship match, Lesnar, who finished 31-1 that season, defeated Wes Hand of the national champion Iowa Hawkeyes 3-2 in double overtime to win the title. 

The year prior, Lesnar lost in the national championship match 3-2 to Stephen Neal of Cal-State Bakersfield. 

In that championship match, Lesnar, who finished 31-1 that season, defeated Wes Hand of the national champion Iowa Hawkeyes 3-2 in double overtime to win the title. 

Tickets to Friday's dual cost $5 to $15 and all students in eighth grade or younger will have a chance to take a group photo with Lesnar. 

Better known for his time in the WWE and UFC – and even a training camp stint with the Vikings – Lesnar was a dominant force on the mat for the Gophers, winning 55 of 58 career matches. 

Meanwhile, Lesnar is still an active force in the WWE as the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, and news broke Monday that he'll be the first entrant at Royal Rumble on Jan. 26. 


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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen.  His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011.  Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play.  Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers.  Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.