No experience is necessary to join our crew team. Good rowers are generally (but not always!) tall, athletic but also competitive. If you want to win, we can teach you to be strong, fit and row. First-year rowers have your own team, your own coach and your own races. You will travel to the same races as the varsity team to race other first-year teams, and even compete for a first-year National Championship against other walk-on rowers from UCLA, Michigan, Perdue, Notre Dame and Virginia. Minnesota won the National Championship in the Novice Four in 2023. Two of the four rowers were walk-ons who had never been in a shell before arriving on campus.
Your first practice will be when school starts in the fall. Practices are in the afternoons, last 90-120 minutes, and are scheduled around your classes. We will never ask you to miss a class for practice. The team’s academic success is equally important to our athletic success. The University of Minnesota Men’s Crew had 13 Academic All-Americans in 2023. You will start by learning the basics of rowing in a boat, and do additional physical training on land. By October, you will get good enough to move a boat fast and even do some developmental races in the fall. You will definitely get in the best shape of your life.
When the Mississippi river freezes over in the winter, you will train indoors. You will use weights, rowing machines and a special rowing ‘tank’ (like a big above-ground pool) to train. Special workouts in the snow are also part of the fun. For spring break, you will travel to Lake Lanier, Georgia for an intensive week of on-the-water training that will get you ready to start the championship spring season.
Spring racing is side-by-side, where the coxswain will push you to do everything in your power to get to the finish line first. When you win a boat race, the loser will give you their shirt right off their back (best tradition in college sports). You will travel to Wisconsin, Michigan, Kansas and Indiana to race other top club teams in the country and hopefully earn more shirts. You finish the year by competing against 20+ other crews for the National Championship in Oak Ridge, TN in late May. That’s a lot of shirts.
All this will happen alongside your teammates, often your best friends. Rowing is the ultimate team sport, where the crew relies on every rower and the coxswain to work together as a unit. You will be inspired by them, and push yourself harder because they are right behind you. When you win, you get to throw your all-important coxswain into the water.
All this sound interesting? Fill out the Recruiting Form and we’ll tell you more about this great sport and how to get started. Row the Boat!
Become a rower
Looking for men with taller, athletic builds, good character, and driven work ethic.
Become a coxswain
Looking for men or women with smaller builds and an ability to take charge.
FAQs:
What kind of university sport is this?
Minnesota Men's Crew is the most nationally competitive sports club at the University of Minnesota.
We compete in the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) division against college crews including Michigan, Purdue, Notre Dame and UConn. We also race the University of Wisconsin in dueling scrimmages.
We travel to Florida, Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee to train and race at the highest club level.
Do I need previous rowing experience?
95% of college rowers are walk-ons (started rowing for the first time in college).
Swimmers, runners, and countless other athletes often start rowing in college to take their athleticism to the next level.
Walk-on athletes can become top collegiate oarsmen. Some of our walk-on athletes have even gone to make the US National and Olympic teams.
What is the time commitment?
We practice weekdays in the afternoons for 90-120 minutes, plus some Saturday mornings. All practices will be arranged around your class schedule.
Minnesota Men's Rowing hold academics to a very high standard and school will always come first. The team had 13 Academic All-Americans named last year.
What is practice like?
You have to be strong, fit and powerful to win rowing races. Novice practices consist of rowing in a boat, a tank and on machines to learn how the technique and how to race. We also use weights, machines and other devices on land to build strength and endurance.
