The University of Minnesota men's basketball program will celebrate season three of the Tubby Smith Era of Golden Gopher Basketball with "Tubby's Tipoff" on Friday, Oct. 16. The Gopher version of the traditional college basketball's "Midnight Madness" will begin at 7:30 p.m., at Williams Arena. Admission is free and open to the public.

'The Barn' doors will open at 7:00 p.m., followed by introductions of the players and coaches, a three-point shooting contest, slam dunk contest and team scrimmage. Following the scrimmage, Gopher players and coaches will take part in a 30 minute autograph session.

The Gophers open the 2009-10 slate on Friday, Nov. 13 vs. Tennessee Tech at Williams Arena (7:00 p.m.).  Minnesota's home schedule contains 17 games, including a matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions to open the Big Ten schedule on Dec. 29. Ohio State, Michigan State, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue and Iowa will also make an appearance at Williams Arena.

Fans interested in purchasing 2009-10 season and single-game tickets may call the ticket office at 612-624-8080, or toll free at 1-800-U-GOPHER. Tickets may also be purchased through Minnesota's official athletics department website, www.gophersports.com.