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| Name | Dr. Tom Osborne |
|---|---|
| Title | Athletic Director, 2007- Head Coach, 1973-1997 |
| College | Nebraska |
| Sport | Football |
| Dateofbirth | February 23, 1937 |
| Birthplace | Hastings, Nebraska, United States |
| Overallrecord | 255-49-3 (.835) |
| Bowlrecord | 12-13-0 |
| Cfbdwid | 1796 |
| Championships | National: (3) - 1994, 1995, 1997 Conference: (13) - 1975, '78, '81-84, '88, '91-95, '97 |
| Awards | ESPN Coach of the Decade (1999) National Coach of the Year (1994) Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award Big 8 Coach of Year (1975, '76, '80, '88, '92-93, '94) Big 12 Coach of the Year (1996) Nebraska's College Athlete of the Year (1958, '59) Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame (1994) Nebraska's High School Athlete of the Year (1955) |
| Player | Y |
| Years | 1956-59 1960-61 1962 |
| Team | Hastings College Washington Redskins San Francisco 49ers |
| Position | Quarterback - (college) Wide Receiver - (NFL) |
| Coach | Y |
| Coachyears | 1964-68 1969-72 1973-97 |
| Coachteams | Nebraska - off. asst. Nebraska - OC Nebraska |
| Footballhof | 1999 |
| Collegehofid | 80020 |
Dr. Thomas William "Tom" Osborne (born February 23, 1937, in Hastings, Nebraska) is a former college football head coach and a former member of Congress. He is currently the athletic director at the University of Nebraska.
He was the head coach of the Cornhuskers football team for 25 years (1973–97), succeeding Bob Devaney. After coaching, Osborne was elected to Congress in 2000 and served six years in the U.S. House as a Republican from Nebraska's 3rd district.
Osborne earned his M.A. in educational psychology from Nebraska in 1963 and a doctorate in educational psychology there in 1965. He also served in the Nebraska Army National Guard from 1960–66.
Devaney announced he would step down as head coach at age 57 after the 1972 season to concentrate on his duties as athletic director, and named Osborne as his successor. Following a convincing win over Notre Dame in the 1973 Orange Bowl (NU's third straight in that bowl), Tom Osborne, age 35, took over as head coach. He was head coach for 25 seasons, through the 1997 season, serving for most of that time as his own offensive coordinator.
Osborne's teams were known for their powerful rushing attack and strong defense (also known as the Blackshirts—referring to the black jerseys that are worn in practice by the defensive starters and certain selected special teams players). Nebraska led the nation in rushing several times in the 1980s and 1990s, due to the efforts of men like Jarvis Redwine, Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier, Calvin Jones, Ahman Green and Lawrence Phillips. After struggling to defend Oklahoma's wishbone option in the 1970s, Osborne switched from a balanced attack to an option offense in 1980 in order to utilize the versatility of dual-threat quarterbacks, such as Turner Gill, Tommie Frazier, and Scott Frost.
Entering the 1984 Orange Bowl, the 1983 Cornhuskers were 12–0 and ranked #1 in the country for the entire season. Nebraska scored a late touchdown against the #5 ranked Miami Hurricanes to narrow the score to 31–30. Rather than attempt an extra point to tie, Osborne opted to attempt the 2-point conversion and go for the win. However, Gill's pass attempt was tipped away in the end zone, giving hometown Miami the victory and the national championship.
In 1993, the Huskers again narrowly lost a national championship. Having gone into the 1994 Orange Bowl as a 17-point underdog to Florida State, Nebraska fought back from a 15–7 deficit to take a 16–15 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the Orange Bowl. After Florida State drove to retake the lead 18–16, Nebraska managed to hit a quick downfield pass in order to get one last field goal attempt as time ran out , which sailed wide. It was the last bowl game Osborne ever lost. The next year, however, Osborne earned his first title as head coach, defeating Miami in the 1995 Orange Bowl. The Huskers, who initially trailed, rallied to win 24–17. The next year, the Huskers roared through the regular season, stayed atop the rankings for all but one week, and crushed the Florida Gators 62–24 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, earning Osborne his second national championship. The 1995 team was voted as the greatest college football team of all time in an ESPN poll. His 1994 and 1995 teams still stand as the only undefeated, consensus back-to-back national champions in Division I-A college football since Oklahoma in 1955-56.
Osborne announced his retirement as head coach late in the 1997 season, selecting Frank Solich, his longtime running backs coach, to succeed him. In his final five seasons, Osborne's record was a staggering 60–3 (.952), the strongest finale to any coaching career in college football history. His final game as head coach came in the 1998 Orange Bowl with a 42-17 victory over Tennessee, also the final NCAA game for Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning.
Osborne was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2000, he received the Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1999, ESPN honored Osborne as the coach of the decade for the 1990s. This honor is even more impressive considering the fact that he did not coach for 20% of the decade. In a 2007 online ESPN poll, Osborne was voted the "greatest college football coach of all time".
Through the 1973 season, the final UPI coaches' poll was released
at the end of the regular season, before the bowl games.
On December 19, it was announced that Osborne would remain as athletic director through June 30, 2010, effectively moving him from interim status to permanent. Osborne will be paid $250,000 per year and will manage Nebraska's 23-sport program.
| Name | Tom Osborne |
|---|---|
| Width | 150 |
| Date of birth | February 23, 1937 |
| Place of birth | Hastings, Nebraska |
| Occupation | football coach |
| Alma mater | Hastings - B.A. Nebraska - M.A., Ed.D. |
| Residence | Lemoyne, Nebraska (while in office) Lincoln, Nebraska (c. 1964-2000, 2007-present) |
| State | Nebraska |
| District | 3rd |
| Term start | January 3, 2001 |
| Term end | January 3, 2007 |
| Preceded | Bill Barrett |
| Succeeded | Adrian M. Smith |
| Party | Republican |
| Religion | Methodist |
| Spouse | Nancy Osborne |
In Congress, Osborne's voting record was moderate to conservative. He garnered a lifetime rating of 83 from the American Conservative Union.
At one point, Osborne teamed up with Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers, normally his political adversary, to oppose efforts to expand gambling in Nebraska.
Osborne was initially thought to be the favorite in the race, given his tremendous popularity in the state. However, Heineman took 49 percent of the more than 197,000 votes cast while Osborne took 45 percent.
The Lincoln Journal Star analyzed the race:
While Osborne captured populous Omaha and Lincoln, Heineman sealed his victory in rural counties and key population centers in western and central Nebraska’s critical Republican battleground....
...it was the political impact of two gubernatorial vetoes that appeared to lift [Heineman ] into a late surge, especially in Osborne’s congressional district.
Heineman’s opposition to Class I rural school reorganization and the granting of resident college tuition rates to the children of illegal immigrants cut into Osborne’s support.
Osborne declined to sign referendum petitions seeking voter repeal of the rural school legislation and said he would have signed the resident tuition bill."
Category:University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni Category:American football wide receivers Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska Category:Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Category:Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic directors Category:San Francisco 49ers players Category:Washington Redskins players Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:American Methodists Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:People from Adams County, Nebraska
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