Yasuzo Sakagami was the first Japanese student to graduate from the University of Minnesota, receiving a B.A. in the College of Science, Literature and Arts in 1897 and a master of literature in 1899.

He was hired as a trainer for the football team, but was asked to resign because of connections to the University of Wisconsin, where he was an honorary fellow after receiving his master's from UMN. However, in 1904, Sakagami was hired as an assistant trainer for men's track, and was considered one of the best college trainers in the west, according to Minnesota Alumni Weekly.

In 1905, Minnesota Alumni Weekly reported that Sakagami returned to Japan and hoped to secure a position in the Japanese consular service and "return to America as a representative of his native land."