The Legacy of Tom Osborne

[knapplc]

Today Tom Osborne announced his retirement from Nebraska Athletics. It's a bittersweet day, mirrored by a cold December day in 1997. Today, in Nebraska, it's bright and sunny. But I can't help remembering that day, in the midst of yet another National Championship run, when Dr. Tom announced that he was stepping down from his post as Head Coach at the University of Nebraska. In his 25 years at the helm, Osborne guided the Huskers through good times and bad - more good than bad, by far - and left the program on the highest of highs, finishing his final five years with a 60-3 record. But that's not all he accomplished.

 

We all know the rundown:

 

255 career wins.

Won 250 games faster than any coach in NCAA history

25 years winning 9 or more games

25 straight bowl games

13 Conference Championships

Three National Championships

Two Heisman Trophy winners

Ranked in the Top 25 throughout his career, minus two weeks

National Coach of the Year eight times

Coached 65 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans

College Football Coaching Hall of Fame entry - 1999

Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award - 2000

Founder, TeamMates Program

 

Throughout his career Osborne coached with class and honor. He retired in 1997 from coaching, taking up a political career in the House of Representatives in 2000-2006, representing Nebraska's 3rd District. Osborne returned to the University of Nebraska when the football program was in disarray, taking on an interim Athletic Director position in 2007. Osborne navigated the football program through some dark times, helping guide it back to stability, if not dominance.

 

As stated in Tom Osborne's bio on Huskers.com, "To put Osborne’s dedication to developing complete student-athletes in perspective, he accumulated more football Academic All-Americans in his 25 years as coach than any other football program in the nation has produced in its history."

 

The legacy Osborne leaves behind is measured as much in the hearts of those he coached, both players and fans, as in his tangible accomplishments. Tom Osborne may, possibly, go down in history as Nebraska's most influential citizen. High School star athlete, Coach, Congressman, Athletic Director of the state's flagship sports program, his is a legacy that will resonate through this state long after his retirement.

 

Now that Tom has retired, and (presumably) officially left the public eye in Nebraska, we can only hope he has many years left to bask in the glow of his accomplishments. If ever a man deserved to, it's Dr. Tom.

 

"Success, as far as I'm concerned, cannot be measured in terms of wins. It's more than winning. To make an effort to win in a manner that reflects well on the university. That has a positive effect on young people."

-Tom Osborne

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

He will be sorely missed.

[GSG]

[GSG]

[808Husker in KCMO]

Did you have this prewritten and ready to post?

[NUance]

• 3 National Championships: 1994, 1995, 1997
  
• 13 Conference Championships: 1975, '78, '81-84, '88, '91-95, '97
  
• Coach of the Year twice: 1994, '99.
  
• Moved NU from the B12 to the B1G Ten conference.
  

A class act all the way. Thank you Dr. Tom!

 

[QMany]

Thank you for everything, Coach Osborne. You will be missed.

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

I don't know if you can put the legacy of Tom into words. What he has done for this state and college football is insurmountable to describe.

[Blackshirts007]

Thank you coach!! it was definitely time for him to step down and probably was time long ago, but the things he had done for this university were incredible...go enjoy life now Tom! Hit some golf balls around, take a trip to the bahamas!!!

[knapplc]

Did you have this prewritten and ready to post?

I wrote it when the news leaked out, and ramped it up quite a bit when Tim Miles broke the news.

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

Can we put his name back on the field yet

[VectorVictor]

If there was ever a man in the State of Nebraska that deserved a respite, it's this man.

[Undone]

 

 

 

 

 

A quiet humility and consideration that put others before himself.

 

A great model of a man.

[jimk]

Could you imagine if he was just now retiring from coaching?

[The Dude]

Could you imagine if he was just now retiring from coaching?

We would have about 10 national titles by now.