Minnesota's spring game is next Saturday, and the Gophers are making a significant and intentional effort to put as much focus as possible on the program's efforts to reduce sexual assault on campus.
The program announced it has partnered with It Ends Here, a student-led organization working to promote and enforce sexual assault policies on campus. Among It Ends Here's key tenants, according to its website, include: holding perpetrators accountable, promoting consent and healthy relationships, believing survivors and working to include historically excluded voices.
In addition to having student body president Trish Palermo speak to the team about It Ends Here this week, Minnesota players will wear It Ends Here shirts to the game, don It Ends Here decals on their helmets and carry It Ends Here oars onto the field to begin the game. The game itself will include a number of It Ends Here-themed promotions during the game, including educational videos on the scoreboard.
(It's worth noting that a sexual assault case involving multiple football players and the program's response therein is a driving reason why PJ Fleck is Minnesota's head coach in the first place.)
Beyond that, Minnesota hosted noted rape survivor-turned-speaker Brenda Tracy recently -- which a lot of programs have done. But not many have done this.
On top of enforcing some good, old fashion etiquette, having every member of your team write Tracy a thank you note is also a sneaky way to make sure her message sticks. Study after study after study have proven that physically writing something down helps the brain retain that information.
Tracy herself has said that football can be the solution to stopping violence against women. Minnesota is trying to prove her right.