Who’s Minnesota’s ‘Blanket Lady’? More than a superfan, she was a women’s basketball pioneer

Minnesota is in a robust spot. The No. 4 Gophers are down 9 factors to No. 13 Green Bay within the first spherical of the NCAA Tournament.

They hadn’t been to March Madness since 2018. Not solely that, but in addition the Gophers earned a host spot. They ought to win. But the stress is mounting.

Luckily for them, the Gophers have one thing Green Bay does not: Blanket Lady.

During a timeout with 6:01 left within the third quarter, the Blanket Lady begins her ritual. She raises the blanket, adorned with a Minnesota emblem, and she runs, waving the maroon and gold material as she goes, up the sideline and down the baseline. As she runs, the group cheers, louder and louder till she returns to her seat.

“I was saying in the locker room after the game, that’s probably the loudest it’s been, I think, the whole time I have ever been here,” senior Amaya Battle mentioned. “It was a ton of fun. It was nice to have them rally around us.”

The timeout ends, however the vitality hangs within the air. Minnesota responded with a 30-8 run, securing a comeback victory and a spot within the Round of 32 for the primary time in eight years.

“I feel like we just won the NCAA Tournament,” the Blanket Lady says the subsequent day.

You know who will get this sport rotated? BLANKET LADY.

She received this crowd on their toes when the #Gophers wanted her most! pic.twitter.com/X6NzmSv85q

— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) March 20, 2026

You can forgive the exaggerated pleasure. She’s higher recognized in The Barn by her Blanket Lady persona, however she’s actually 81-year-old Elvera “Peps” Neuman. She’s a superfan who has been hyping up Minnesota supporters at house video games since 2004. And she’s cherished basketball lengthy earlier than the game cherished girls again.

Neuman grew up on a farm in Eden Valley, Minn., with a basket hooked up to the aspect of his household’s barn. It was put there for her 4 older brothers, however Neuman took to the game. She practiced taking pictures each time she may, even when she was milking the cows.

“The milkers were supposed to be on the cows for like, three minutes,” she mentioned. “Well, I thought I could go out there to shoot for three minutes. But sometimes it got to be five or 10 minutes. It probably wasn’t easy on the cows, but we got more milk.”

Neuman’s ardour could not be contained to his household farm. She needed to play for her highschool, however within the early Sixties, there have been no groups for women round her, and the boys would not let her play with them.

“Not to brag,” Neuman mentioned with a snort, “but I was better than most of the boys anyway.”

In an effort to remain near the sport, Neuman joined the pep membership, supporting the identical boys who refused to play along with her. Then, a dialog along with her English instructor modified every part. She advised Neuman a workforce of girls had been coming to Paynesville, a city simply 14 miles down the street, to problem among the native coaches.

Neuman went to the sport and was in awe of the Harlem Chicks, a workforce of Black gamers. As quickly as she received house, Neuman wrote a letter to the workforce’s promoter. She needed to play for the Chicks. Segregation prevented that, so as a substitute, Neuman joined the Texas Cowgirls barnstorming workforce. From there, her basketball profession took off — no less than as a lot because it may for a lady at the moment.

Neuman performed basketball till she was 44, and even based her personal barnstorming workforce, referred to as the Arkansas Gems. Each season, Neuman performed in round 140 video games, touring from city to city, generally driving 400 miles in sooner or later. It was a grind, but it surely was all Neuman knew. And it was the one approach she may play basketball.

“I loved it,” she mentioned. “I absolutely loved it.”

Every time Neuman walked on the court docket, she placed on a present, as soon as scoring 108 factors in a sport. That sort of vivaciousness does not simply go away, not even at 81 years previous. Neuman nonetheless brings it to the court docket, solely now, she’s on the sidelines.

“I get more attention from being the Blanket Lady than I ever did from playing basketball,” Neuman mentioned. “That might upset some people, to not get the attention, or the money, but I’m just the opposite. I’m pulling for these girls at 200 percent.”

The Blanket Lady custom began by accident in 2006. Neuman serves as a caregiver for her good friend and former basketball teammate, Vicky Nelson. Because Nelson is in a wheelchair, the duo sits courtside in an accessible seating part. The blanket was a present from two different Minnesota followers who seen that Nelson all the time draped his jacket over his knees in an effort to maintain heat throughout video games.

Overcome by the kindness of the gesture, Neuman held up the blanket to the group, and when she did, everybody cheered. Ever the showman, Neuman took the cheers and ran with it — actually — up the sideline. The Blanket Lady was born.

Elvera “Peps” Neuman brings the identical vitality she dropped at the basketball court docket as a participant to her Minnesota courtside seats. (Courtesy of Elvera Neuman)

Neuman and Nelson have not missed a Gophers house sport since 2004, when All-America level guard Lindsay Whalen was a senior. They definitely will not miss Minnesota’s March Madness second-round sport Sunday in opposition to Ole Miss.

If the vitality dwindles, Neuman shall be prepared.

She paved the way in which for the present Gophers throughout her barnstorming days, and she’s nonetheless doing every part she can to assist them succeed.

“I’ll be there,” she mentioned. “I’ll be there with the blanket and my Gophers gear. I love this team.”