The man behind the Golden Gophers

Joel Maturi is the Athletic Director for the Minnesota Golden Gophers athletic program. After graduating Notre Dam in 1967, Joel Maturi began coaching high school sports leading him to a spot in the Wisconsin Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 1996, after serving as associate Athletic Director at Madison for nine years, Maturi was hired as the Athletic Director at Denver. Denver hired Maturi to help ease their transition from a D-II school to D-I status. Two years later, Joel Maturi was hired on by Miami until Minnesota lured him in.

Joel Maturi was hired by the Gophers on July 12, 2002, where he was been ever since. After the Clem Haskins' basketball scandal, the U of M really needed a savior and felt Maturi was the right man for the job. So far, Joel has done well by securing financial backing for a new football stadium and a bright basketball program future by hiring Tubby Smith.