Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Minneapolis-based retail store Target apologized after selling sports apparel referring to the Minnesota Gophers as the "Minnesota Badgers," incorrectly using a nickname that belongs to rival school Wisconsin.
Social media users posted photos featuring the misprinted onesie. The onesie was maroon and gold, the true color scheme for Gophers athletics. The onesie also featured the school's script "M" logo.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department jokingly tweeted that they "opened up a full investigation" into the matter. The University of Minnesota tweeted a GIF, showing their mascot Goldy Gopher throwing a snowball at a "Wisconsin Welcomes You" sign.
"Color us red," Target said in a statement. "As a Minnesota-based company, we know we are home to the Gophers."
Target said the onesies were available in four Minneapolis-area stores and two were purchased. An additional 22 misprinted onesies were returned to the vendor.
Kileigh Carpenter, a former University of Minnesota student and employee, was one of the Target customers who saw the onesie. She told the Star Tribune she was "happy to see both fan bases unite."
Minnesota has been known as the Gopher State since the 1800s, while Goldy became Minnesota's mascot in the 1940s, according to the school. Minnesota athletics started using the Gophers nickname in 1926. Wisconsin began using its Bucky Badger mascot in the 1940s, while the school first used the badger as a mascot in 1889.
