It was created and maintained by David Riggins. The links below now point to the corresponding topic area in the Galaxy directory. The gophers seem to be an endangered species as more and more web sites replace them. Selective link guides and directories to topics and issues. Ok, it's the Mother Gopher, because this is where Gopher Space was invented.
Gopher is a double play on words.
The U of Minn. teams are known as the Golden Gophers. And this is probably more than you wanted to know.