Former Gophers forward Eric Curry is joining the Big Ten for a year-long fellowship within the conference's headquarters in Chicago, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren announced Tuesday at football media day.

After battling back from multiple season-ending knee injuries in his career, Curry delayed being a graduate assistant to give Gophers coach Ben Johnson in an inside presence last season.

A 6-9 Memphis native, Curry graduated with a master's degree in youth development and was named to the Big Ten all-academic team this spring. In his sixth season with the Gophers, he averaged a career-high 7.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists as the starting center in 2021-22.

In July, Curry was also named Minnesota's Outstanding Sportsmanship Award male winner for the Big Ten.

Last year at Big Ten Football Media Days, Warren announced the creation of the George and Viola Taliaferro Fellowship. The fellowship, named after both an Indiana football pioneer and longtime state attorney, gives individuals opportunities to work for a year in the conference commissioner's office to gain experience in different sports and business roles.

Curry was one of four fellowship hires mentioned at football media day by Warren.

"What makes this so special is that they will have an opportunity to work with me," Warren said, "to work in our conference office, and to be able to build their career in college athletics."