{
  "id": "2020-11-12-university-of-minnesota-tcf-bank-stadium-bomb-threat",
  "slug": "university-of-minnesota-tcf-bank-stadium-bomb-threat-2020-11-12",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Minnesota",
    "shortName": "UMN",
    "state": "MN",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "SAFE-U",
    "enrollment": 51848
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2020-11-12",
    "type": "bomb-threat",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "unfounded",
    "headline": "Bomb threat prompts evacuation of the football stadium; declared unfounded",
    "headlinePublic": "Bomb threat prompts evacuation of the football stadium; declared unfounded",
    "summary": "On the afternoon of November 12, 2020, the [University of Minnesota Police Department](https://publicsafety.umn.edu/) issued a SAFE-U emergency alert reporting [a bomb threat at TCF Bank Stadium](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/tcf-bank-stadium-evacuated-after-bomb-threat/), the football home of the Golden Gophers. UMPD ordered the stadium evacuated and asked the campus community to stay away while officers and a K-9 unit swept the building. The Gophers football team was not on site at the time (the team played Iowa at TCF Bank Stadium the following night) and the threat was declared unfounded about an hour after the first alert.",
    "outcome": "UMPD officers and a K-9 detection unit swept the stadium and found nothing relevant to the threat. An all-clear SAFE-U notification was issued at approximately 2:30 p.m. CST. The Gophers' home game against Iowa proceeded on Friday, November 13, 2020 without further incident."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "U of M Twin Cities: UMPD is investigating a bomb threat at TCF Bank Stadium. Building is being evacuated. Please stay away from the area. Updates and safety tips at z.umn.edu/alerts",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/safe-u-emergency-151",
      "sourceDescription": "UMN SAFE-U Emergency (official)",
      "annotations": [
        "Sent at 1:29 p.m. CST on November 12, 2020, roughly 14 minutes after the threat was called in around 1:15 p.m. CST",
        "Uses the standard 'U of M Twin Cities:' SAFE-U preface that identifies the campus affected (the system also serves the Duluth, Morris, Crookston, and Rochester campuses)",
        "Directs recipients to z.umn.edu/alerts — UMN's shortened URL for its centralized alert log, used to reduce SMS character load while still pointing to live updates",
        "Issued the day before the Gophers' home football game against Iowa, which proceeded as scheduled on Friday, November 13, 2020"
      ],
      "characterCount": 181,
      "timestampApprox": "November 12, 2020 (SAFE-U emergency-151 archive)"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "November 12, 2020 (SAFE-U emergency-150 archive)",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "U of M Twin Cities: UMPD responded to TCF Stadium UMPD has given the all clear Building business as usual updates and safety tips at z.umn.edu/alerts",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "annotations": [
        "Exact all-clear text from UMN SAFE-U emergency archive page safe-u-emergency-150.",
        "CBS Minnesota and KSTP confirmed that UMPD officers and a K-9 detection unit swept the building and 'did not find anything relevant to the threat'"
      ],
      "characterCount": 149,
      "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/safe-u-emergency-150",
      "sourceDescription": "UMN SAFE-U Emergency — TCF Stadium all-clear"
    }
  ],
  "context": "TCF Bank Stadium (renamed [Huntington Bank Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington_Bank_Stadium) in 2021) is the on-campus home of [Minnesota Golden Gophers football](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Golden_Gophers_football) and seats roughly 50,000 fans. The November 12, 2020 bomb threat is notable not because the stadium was full (it was empty, and the pandemic-era Big Ten season was being played without fans) but because the [UMN SAFE-U alert system](https://safe-campus.umn.edu/) treated a threat to an athletic venue with the same urgency it would treat a threat to a classroom building. The alert was issued by [UMPD](https://publicsafety.umn.edu/) at 1:29 p.m. CST after a threat was called in around 1:15 p.m. CST. Officers and a K-9 detection unit swept the building; [no device was found](https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/authorities-give-all-clear-following-bomb-threat-at-tcf-bank-stadium/) and the all-clear was given about an hour later. The Gophers played Iowa at the same stadium the following night. The incident illustrates an under-appreciated category of campus alerts: emergency notifications about athletic facilities that nonetheless go out to the full student, staff, and faculty population because the stadium sits on the academic campus.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "SAFE-U alerts about athletic venues at UMN go to the same population that receives alerts about classroom buildings, there is no separate stadium-specific alert channel",
    "The 2020 incident occurred during a pandemic-era empty-stadium season, but UMPD treated the threat with the same procedure it would use during a sold-out game",
    "The 14-minute gap between the threatening call (approximately 1:15 p.m. CST) and the first SAFE-U alert (1:29 p.m. CST) reflects the time needed for UMPD to verify, draft, and dispatch the message",
    "The all-clear came about an hour after the first alert, consistent with the rapid K-9 sweep typical of a single-building threat without follow-on credible intelligence"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "UMN SAFE-U Emergency — TCF Stadium all clear",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/safe-u-emergency-150",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "UMN SAFE-U Emergency — TCF Bank Stadium bomb threat",
      "url": "https://publicsafety.umn.edu/safe-u-emergency-151",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "TCF Bank Stadium Evacuated After Bomb Threat (CBS Minnesota)",
      "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/tcf-bank-stadium-evacuated-after-bomb-threat/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Authorities give all clear following bomb threat at TCF Bank Stadium (KSTP)",
      "url": "https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/authorities-give-all-clear-following-bomb-threat-at-tcf-bank-stadium/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "All clear after bomb threat prompts evacuation of TCF Bank Stadium (Bring Me The News)",
      "url": "https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/bomb-threat-prompts-evacuation-of-tcf-bank-stadium",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "UMPD resolve bomb threat investigation at TCF Bank Stadium (Minnesota Daily)",
      "url": "https://mndaily.com/263807/news/umpd-reports-bomb-threat-at-tcf-bank-stadium/",
      "type": "student-newspaper"
    },
    {
      "title": "All clear given after TCF Bank Stadium evacuated during bomb threat investigation (FOX 9)",
      "url": "https://www.fox9.com/news/tcf-bank-stadium-being-evacuated-as-police-investigate-bomb-threat",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "bomb-threat",
    "stadium",
    "athletic-facility",
    "tcf-bank-stadium",
    "huntington-bank-stadium",
    "football",
    "minnesota",
    "safe-u",
    "umpd",
    "unfounded",
    "k-9-sweep"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-13",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}