Glen Mason, the happy-go-lucky mentor of the Minnesota football team, was the recipient of much love and appreciation in the aftermath of Saturday’s 37-34 victory over Wisconsin.

This was trumpeted as a landmark victory, since it was both the ninth of the season and the first against a winning team from among the six BCS/major conferences.

There was dramatic mention made in the Twin Cities dailies and on the local television stations, as well as on mighty ESPN, that this was the first time the football Gophers had reached nine victories since 1905.

So thrilled were we local media types for “Coach Mase” (as we like to call him) that no one paused for elaboration, such as this:

In the 59 seasons that followed directly after 1905, there were 35 when the Gophers did not play nine games, and there were another 21 when it would have required going unbeaten to reach nine victories.

So what if there’s a tiny, 56-season gap of reality in the 98 years between nine-victory campaigns for the Gophers?

This is a celebration of a football revival and the potential return to a New Year’s Day bowl game after 42 years, even if it would be a non-BCS, consolation bowl game.

The Gophers were at a low ebb when Mason arrived from Kansas University in December 1996 — not as much in talent as in organization and vision.

Mason brought a force and discipline to the operation that had not existed since Lou Holtz’s brief tenure (1984-85). He also told the administration that important improvements were needed for him to build a winning program.

The Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex was given a $7.7 million upgrade. The Minnesota assistant coaches, long underpaid by Big Ten standards, ranked third in the conference in overall salaries in 2002 (excluding Penn State, which did not report its figures).

The administration’s No. 1 commitment of all has been to Mason. The salary package that lured him away from Kansas was worth roughly $500,000 per year. It was doubled during negotiations with former school president Mark Yudof that concluded in June 2000 with a seven-year contract worth $9.2 million, if he stays to the end.

The administration has cleared another hurdle for Mason in recent years. For a couple of decades, we have been hearing about the great advantage Michigan held over the Gophers in securing talent with its degree-granting sports management program.

Minnesota saw the error of its way and started a degree-granting sports studies program four years ago. Presto! Another disadvantage bulldozed from Mason’s path.

The administration has given Mason everything necessary to build a winning program.

These heady times for Gophers football should cause all to pause and consider the wonders of teamwork — the combined efforts of Coach Mase and his bosses that got our beloved rodents to where they are today, and could be Jan. 1.