Steveson has won two straight Big Ten titles at heavyweight, and also won his first NCAA title. The Apple Valley native also has plans to finish his college degree.

“We always wanted what was best for Gable, and we understood he had a lot of great opportunities in front of him. We had a strong sense that he was going to return to the University of Minnesota, but until he made it official, anything could happen,” Gophers coach Brandon Eggum said Thursday via Zoom. “We were just excited. We knew this day was coming or hoped that it was. It just says a lot about his character that he really feels he can still play a major role in the development of our program. He talks about it all the time that if you want to be the best, you should come to the University of Minnesota.”

Once the NCAA approved NIL and college athletes could make money without losing eligibility, the questions surfaced about how it could be done within compliance. It turns out NIL might be helping keep Steveson a Gopher for at least one more year. He actually has two years of eligibility left.