Future Gopher football home openers on Thursday before Labor Day

OCT 29, 2011; Minneapolis, MN, USA; TCF Bank Stadium before the game between Iowa Hawkeyes and Minnesota Gophers. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-US PRESSWIRE

Beginning with the 2013 season, the next four Gopher football home openers will be on the Thursday before Labor Day.

Originally scheduled for the Saturday before the Monday holiday, the rescheduling was done in collaboration with the Minnesota State Fair which runs until Labor Day annually and draws hundreds of thousands of people to the grounds located only a few miles from TCF Bank Stadium.

Thousands of State Fair goers use the free parking and shuttle service to the fair grounds from various parking lots around the stadium and tailgating for football fans will most likely be a problem if the game, as expected, is an evening game.

The homes games are against UNLV, Eastern Illinois, South Dakota State, and New Mexico State, respectively.