2009 Golddigger Announcements

• Volleyball Awards Banquet
  
• Golddiggers Road Trip To Wisconsin
  
• Gopher Volleyball // Golddiggers First Practice Dinner
  
• Minnesota Gophers 2009 Fall Schedule
  

Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of the 2009 volleyball season, enjoy a fine meal, and mingle with fellow fans, coaches, and the volleyball players.

The banquet is Saturday, February 6th, from 10:30 am until 2:00 pm. We will be holding it in the brand new TCF Bank Stadium (the DQ Room, not the middle of the outdoor field!) on campus. After the banquet, those who want to see the new stadium will have the chance to go on a guided tour.

Please, sign up soon, and get your friends, neighbors, and family to come along with you. This year's team was really something special, and we hope you can come and share in their awards banquet.
The cost is just $25 for Golddigger members, and $30 for non-Golddiggers. A Kids Meal option is available for those 13 and younger who want it.
If you want to mail your payment, you can use this form -- Banquet Signup Form
If you'd like to sign up and pay online using paypal, use this form -- Banquet Online Signup

A special note for our Coaches-Club members: your membership includes two paid tickets to the awards banquet. Rather than fill out a form, you can just send an e-mail to JT with your name, and the name(s) of the two people who will be attending (so we can make name-tags). If more than two of you will be coming, please e-mail the information on the first two, and then fill out either of the above two forms for the remaining attendees.

The Golddiggers are planning another bus trip this year, to attend a match on the road down in Madison, Wisconsin -- home of the Badgers.

Because of schedule conflicts down in Madison, the match will be held Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm. That makes it ideal for a day-trip. We'll be able to leave first thing in the morning, have a great time snacking and chatting on the bus down, watch the Gophers win (again!) in Wisconsin, and still get back home around 8:00pm.

Last year's dual-site pickups worked well, so we will try to have two spots again this year -- one in the north (Blaine Sports Center probably) and one in the south (near Mall of America).

The schedule is still tentative, but currently looks like this:

• 7:00 am - bus pickup in the north
• 7:30 am - bus pickup in the south
• 7:45 am - get on the highway
• noon - arrive in Madison
• 1:00 pm - match starts
• 3:30 pm - back on the bus, after a great match!
• 7:30 pm - return to south pickup point
• 8:00 pm - return to north pickup point
Cost will be $35 per person for Golddigger members, and $40 per person for non-Golddiggers.
This includes your seat on the bus, a ticket to the match, a tip for the driver, and some snacks/drinks while on the bus.
We also invite and encourage people to bring along snacks to share, along with their memories of past Gopher volleyball matches.

We're not quite ready to take payments yet, but if you want to pre-reserve your seats, you can contact JT or Larry Mickelson at any of the Gopher matches.
Alternately, you can e-mail jt@golddigger-boosters.org with your name(s), along with your phone number and e-mail address.
Finally, if you'd rather just fill out a form, use the sign-up page at http://www.golddigger-boosters.org/2009/announcements/signup_form.html#BusTrip

When we know how many buses we need to plan on, we'll contact you with instructions on how you can pay. We should be able to handle credit cards using our Paypal interface, just as we can for membership renewals. You'll be able to pay by check or cash at Golddigger events, as well, of course.

The first Golddiggers event of the 2009 season is the First Practice Dinner.  Here are the details:

• Date - Sunday, August 16th
• Time (this differs from previous information)
• Practice will be from 2:30 - 5:30 at the Pav.  Public is welcome!
• Dinner will at 5:45.  We hope to have a grill out by our favorite caterers - Frida and Bill Busch
• Meet and hear from the team and coaches
• Cost
• $10 /adult
• $5 /child 12 and under
• $25 /family (up to two adults, plus children)
  
• Pay at the event
• Checks need to be made payable to "Frida Busch" not the Golddiggers
• RSVP to JT at jt@golddigger-boosters.org on or before Monday, August 10th

This will be the first chance (for most of us, anyway) to see the team in action on the court.  It's also a great opportunity to mingle with fellow volleyball enthusiasts.

You do not need to be a Golddigger to attend this event, but we hope that you'll consider it, after seeing who we are and what we do.

We will also be drawing winners for the home season opener Premium Seating.  The Golddiggers purchased a pair of these new seats at the end-court, and we'll be  selecting the winners  (one for  each of the three times... Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening) from people who are Golddigger members as of August 16th, including anyone who signs up on the day of the first practice. 
For this drawing only, you do not need to be present to win.
Subsequent drawings will be held at the post-match receptions, for the following home weekend matches.

Date(s)	Time **	Event	Location
Pre-Conference Tournaments
(Omaha, NE) AVCA Showcase
Fri, 8/28 Sat, 8/29	tbd tbd tbd tbd	Minnesota and Michigan vs Nebraska and Kansas State (two matches each day)	Omaha, NE Qwest Center
George Mason University
Mon, 8/31	6:00 pm	G.Mason v Minnesota	Fairfax, VA John Linn Memorial Gym
US Naval Academy
Tue, 9/01	6:00 pm	Navy v Minnesota	Annapolis, MD Wesley Brown Field House
Minnesota (Diet Coke Classic)
Fri, 9/04 Sat, 9/05	5:30 pm 8:00 pm 10:30 am 1:00 pm 5:30 pm 8:00 pm	G-Washington v Iowa State Minnesota v Auburn Minnesota v G-Washington Auburn v Iowa State G-Washington v Auburn Minnesota v Iowa State	Minneapolis, MN Sports Pavilion
Tampa Twice Tournament
Fri, 9/11 Sat, 9/12	5:00 pm 7:00 pm 5:00 pm 7:00 pm	Minnesota v Washington South Florida v Florida Washington v Florida Minnesota v South Florida	Tampa, FL Sun Dome
Denver Tournament
Fri, 9/18 Sat, 9/19	6:00 pm 8:30 pm 12:00 pm 2:00 pm 8:30 pm	Minnesota v Oregon Denver v Georgia Tech Denver v Oregon Minnesota v Georgia Tech Minnesota v Denver	Denver, CO Hamilton Gymnasium
Big Ten Conference Matches
Fri, Sep 25	7:00 pm	Wisconsin	MN Sports Pavilion
Sat, Sep 26	7:00 pm	Iowa	MN Sports Pavilion
Fri, Oct 2	6:00 pm	@ Purdue	W.Lafayette, IN
Sun, Oct 4	12:00 pm	@ Indiana	Bloomington, IN
Fri, Oct 9	6:00 pm	Ohio State	MN Sports Pavilion
Sun, Oct 11	1:00 pm	Penn State	MN Sports Pavilion
Fri, Oct 16	7:00 pm	@ Illinois	Champaign, IL
Sat, Oct 17	7:00 pm	@ Northwestern	Evanston, IL
Fri, Oct 23	7:00 pm	Michigan State	MN Sports Pavilion
Sat, Oct 24	7:00 pm	Michigan	Williams Arena
Fri, Oct 30	6:00 pm	@ Penn State	State College, PA
Sat, Oct 31	6:00 pm	@ Ohio State	Columbus, OH
Fri, Nov 6	7:00 pm	Indiana	MN Sports Pavilion
Sun, Nov 8	1:00 pm	Purdue	MN Sports Pavilion
Fri, Nov 13	7:00 pm	@ Iowa	Iowa City, IA
Sun, Nov 15	1:00 pm	@ Wisconsin	Madison, WI
Fri, Nov 20	6:00 pm	@ Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI
Sat, Nov 21	5:30 pm	@ Michigan State	E.Lansing, MI
Fri, Nov 27	7:00 pm	Northwestern	MN Sports Pavilion
Sat, Nov 28	7:00 pm	Illinois	MN Sports Pavilion
NCAA Tournament
Dec 3-5		First and Second Rounds	TBD
Dec 10-12		Regionals	MN Sports Pavilion Florida (Gainesville) Nebraska (Omaha) Stanford (Palo Alto)
Dec 17-19		Final Four	Tampa, FL

Dates and times are subject to change. Times are Minnesota (Central) Time

2008 Announcements