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Eric Decker will be back in Minneapolis on Saturday night for his Minnesota Golden Gophers’ homecoming game, reliving the glory days.
The former NFL receiver starred for Minnesota, playing three years at the Metrodome before spending his senior season at the outdoor Huntington Bank Stadium.
“Just to be around that energy, reliving the memories, I love P.J. [Fleck], he’s done a great job with the program and has gotten the best out of his guys. Fun to be back, especially in the fall, that’s the best time of year anywhere. But football season on campus, a lot of great memories I’ve built through my career now,” Decker said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
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Eric Decker celebrates after a first half Minnesota touchdown. (Marlin Levison/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Decker will be in the building on behalf of Duke Cannon, which will have its “Big A– Keg of Soap” to keep fans clean throughout the long day ahead of the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
“All the fans are welcome to come, take a little shower, get a little refresh after a long day of tailgating and smell fresh walking into the stadium…” Decker said. “The keg is relative to the college lifestyle, so it’s a fun activation, completely different than anything I’ve seen. Really excited for them to do it on campus during homecoming.”
It’s been well over a decade since Decker donned the gold and maroon, and he’s seen the change in college athletics from the outside.
Eric Decker of the Minnesota Golden Gophers celebrates his touchdown reception in the first overtime period against the Miami of Ohio Redhawks as Minnesota defeated Miami of Ohio 41-35 in triple overtime at the Metrodome on Sept. 8, 2007, in Minneapolis. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
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Decker knows that Minnesota does not have the same pull as the school’s longtime Big Ten rivals like Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State — or even the new ones like Oregon, Washington and USC.
“We do get good athletes in, the problem is keeping them,” Decker said.
So, how do they do that? It’s simple.
“I also look at the opportunity, and this is a challenge: Minneapolis has the most Fortune 500 companies in the area. How we can’t align to create a fund where Ohio State gets $25 million outside of their allotment that the Big Ten gives each team, we should be doing that in order to, in a sense, buy wins,” Decker said. “We just don’t have that. That’s an opportunity I know P.J. knows about, but the philosophy with the school and their vision, these corporations, there’s gotta be kind of marriage or merging of it. I hope we can bring some big players in, because financially, we can.
Eric Decker of the Minnesota Gophers makes a reception for 42 yards on Oct. 17, 2009, in State College, Pennsylvania. (Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
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“Overall, I don’t know if there’s much to be done if it’s not financially rewarding.”
Minnesota is aiming for its fourth win on Saturday against Purdue.
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