The new century began wonderfully for Gopher Football. In 
Dr. Henry L. Williams, the Gophers had their first true
professional coach, one who could counter the likes of Yost
at Michigan and Stagg at Chicago. Before his long career was
over, Williams would establish himself as one of the game's
greatest innovators and coaches.

Williams' first team, in 1900, ran-up a 10-0-2 record enroute
to the league's co-championship. The Gophers would go 9-1-1
in 1901 and 9-2-1 the next year, finishing 3rd both years.
But 1903 would be a true turning point for Minnesota Football.

The Gophers would ring-up a 14-0-1 record, outscoring their
opponents by the staggering score of 618-12. The tie came
against Michigan, 6-6, in a game that launched the Little Brown 
Jug tradition. It also established the Gophers as more than
just a regional power but one to be reckoned with nationally
as well. No longer was Michigan the only big-time power in
the West.

The Gophers would share the Western Conference title the next
year by going 13-0 and outscoring their foes 725-12, and in
1905 they followed that up with a solid 10-1 mark. While 
Fielding Yost and his Michigan Wolverines were gaining the
lionshare of publicity with their "Point-A-Minute" teams, the
Gophers under Williams were equally as prolific.

The sport would go through some real changes after 1905, as
the forward pass was approved for use and schedules were
shortened to lessen the evident brutality of the game. 
Williams was a leading figure in these changes, which are
generally acknowledged to have saved the sport from extinction.

The Gophers would tie for the Western Conference title in 1906
and would win it outright in 1909. By this time, Williams
was coming up with new ideas and innovations on a regular
basis, the most famous being his "Minnesota Shift". Gopher
Football had become a hot commodity, and sellout and near-
sellout crowds were frequenting Northrup Field on a regular
basis.