Numerous news and notes related to Gopher Football have come across my desk/screen the last couple days, so I'm throwing them all together in a blog. It's one-stop shopping here on the Golden Gopher Football Blog.

The college football season officially ended last night with the BCS National Championship Game. So, now we have to wait through the long 234 days before the Gophers will kick off the 2012 season Sept. 1 at UNLV.

But there are a few important dates and events coming up to keep our minds on Golden Gopher Football in the coming weeks and months.

I know many of our fans are very interested in what the Gophers' uniforms will look like when they take the field next season. That answer will come by late next week. We'll have an announcement on the unveiling of our new uniforms soon.

Shortly after the new uniforms are revealed, a new crop of Gophers will be unveiled as well. National Signing Day is set for Feb. 1. There will be plenty of coverage here on GopherSports.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

In the news, ESPN.com Big Ten Blogger Brian Bennett listed Gopher quarterback MarQueis Gray as one of his five offensive players to watch in 2012, saying he is trying to identify "breakout players - guys who had good seasons in 2011 but could be primed for greatness in '12." See what Bennett had to say by clicking here. 

Sticking with the MarQueis Gray theme, he was chosen as one of the Star-Tribune's 12 for 2012 who could make a positive impact on the local sports scene in the coming year. The University of Minnesota was heavily represented in this list, as new U of M President Eric Kaler, women's basketball player Rachel Banham and hockey player Kent Patterson were also included. 

There is good academic news leaking out regarding the Gopher Football program. Sid Hartman had a jotting in a recent column about this and there have been mentions of the Gophers' grades on Twitter and elsewhere. We should have full details here in the blog very soon. 

How much is the Gopher Football program worth? According to a researcher from Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, the answer is $148.3 million. That would rank the Gophers in the top one-third of all Football Bowl Subdivision schools. For more information on the study, click here. 

Lastly, if you ever wondered about some of the folks who work behind the scenes in college football, you might want to give a listen to an interview with Matt Schilling, the Gophers' Director of Video Services. Schilling was contacted by Ted Bauer, who's blog and podcast are called All In A Day's Work. Bauer writes and posts podcasts about people with interesting professions. Click this link to read the blog and listen to the podcast.