Everyone is trailing Texas

[Eric the Red]

Everyone is trailing Texas

 

 

Jennifer Saleaumua (26), Tracy Stalls (11) and the rest of the Husker volleyball team won the only conference title for Nebraska in the 2005-06 season. (Jill Peitzmeier)

 

The mighty Longhorns had everyone hooked in 2005-06, winning 13 Big 12 crowns, compared with one in volleyball for Nebraska.

 

BY TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star

 

A $50 million investment in steel, brick and mortar couldn’t come at a better time in Husker Nation.

 

On the field, it’s been a lean year for Nebraska in the hardware business.

 

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A well-rounded athletic program that hauled home 42 Big 12 championships in the previous six years collected a mere one in 2005-06, a revelation as stunning as Missouri going a seventh straight year without even one conference title.

 

At the other extreme is Texas, which with 13 league championships in 2005-06 threatened to make a mockery of competition within the supposed super-conference.

 

Texas won championships in seven of the nine men’s sports in which the Longhorns compete. And in the other two, UT finished second.

 

By sweeping conference titles in football, men’s basketball and baseball, Texas did something the Longhorns hadn’t accomplished in more than 30 years.

 

“Bevo and the 11 Dwarfs” is how the San Antonio Express-News referred to the Big 12 in a story highlighting the Longhorns’ success.

 

“Texas had a dominant year this year. They won just about everything,” Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson said in reviewing the Huskers’ year in sports. “Overall, we made much more progress this year, but we just didn’t win as many Big 12 championships.”

 

It’s a belief born out in the Directors’ Cup standings, the all-sports competition sponsored by the nation’s athletic directors.

 

Once baseball results are added in, Nebraska should finish 19th, up from 21st a year ago and the Huskers’ best finish in five years.

 

Nebraska finished among the top 25 nationally in 15 of its 23 sports, including top-five finishes from five women’s teams — bowling, rifle, volleyball, gymnastics and outdoor track and field.

 

Volleyball, the Huskers’ only Big 12 conference champion, reached the national championship match to easily rank as the best of Nebraska’s high-profile teams.

 

Both basketball squads failed to reach the NCAA Tournament for another year, yet their matching 19-win seasons were gains over 2004-05.

 

Baseball, like women’s soccer and women’s gymnastics, flirted with winning a conference title. But the Huskers’ late-season swoon ended with a disappointing two-and-out performance in the NCAA Regional.

 

Football, meanwhile, ended on a high note with wins against Colorado in the regular-season finale and Michigan in the Alamo Bowl.

 

Other highlights were a second consecutive NCAA appearance in women’s tennis, a top-20 finish in women’s golf and a NCAA regional berth for a men’s golf program that had finished dead-last in the Big 12 three of the past four years.

 

Those accomplishments, combined with the fast-approaching conclusion of the Memorial Stadium Improvement Project, has Pederson believing momentum within the NU athletic program is at its highest point since his arrival as athletic director in 2003.

 

“Back then, I’d go into places and there would be good crowds, but there was sort of this tentative feeling that we weren’t going anywhere,” Pederson said last week. “People would say to me, ‘I hope we’re going to get everything fixed and turned around.’

 

“That seemed to be the common theme.”

 

Much like Texas winning Big 12 titles.

 

“We’ve got to stay focused on winning the conference,” Pederson said. “If you can win the championship in the Big 12, you’ve got a chance to win the national championship in any sport.”

 

Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7439 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.

[skersfan]

Population, money and pride. Hard group to beat. Facilities second to none, proud boosters. It will be a long road to hoe for the rest to get back close to them. Thank God we got Steve Pederson or our chances would be nil.

[pigsonthewing]

Population, money and pride. Hard group to beat. Facilities second to none, proud boosters. It will be a long road to hoe for the rest to get back close to them. Thank God we got Steve Pederson or our chances would be nil.

i have to agree. Steve appears to have a lot of pride, and he knows what its going to take to get us back to an elite level.

[Eric the Red]

What I want to know is when will roles be reversed to enable the smaller venues, like Nebraska and Oklahoma, to be aided. The Big 12 took away partial qualifiers, now what's going to be taken away from Texas. NCAA is looking for parity, 13 COnf. champs to everyone else isn't

[hoyamannn]

What I want to know is when will roles be reversed to enable the smaller venues, like Nebraska and Oklahoma, to be aided. The Big 12 took away partial qualifiers, now what's going to be taken away from Texas. NCAA is looking for parity, 13 COnf. champs to everyone else isn't

What? Aren't you a Yankee fan?

 

Actually I hope the NCAA doesn't do a thing. Because we have more $ and better facilities we are going to be the kings of the North for years to come (at least in football). No other north team can compete with the facilities and resources we have getting pumped into our program.

 

I don't want parity in college football. I want the Huskers to constantly be one of the elite teams in the nation each and every year and teams like Kstate and CU to fall of the face of the earth.

[skersfan]

Parity in the North is not the question. How do we compete with Texas down the road. We do not nor will we ever have the money or facilities to compete with Texas. As Eric said how will the NCAA get it done. I have no idea, but this Big 12 deal was not good for Nebraska at any time. Nor will it ever be. Texas will always run the show.

[huskerdavo]

Parity in the North is not the question.  How do we compete with Texas down the road.  We do not nor will we ever have the money or facilities to compete with Texas.  As Eric said how will the NCAA get it done.  I have no idea, but this Big 12 deal was not good for Nebraska at any time.  Nor will it ever be.  Texas will always run the show.

I agree we cant compete with Texas on the money issue cause they have more boosters pumping their program(spoken to many of them on the issue). Also we can't win, we compete but we can't win the recruiting battle for Texas kids that grow up wanting to play for the whorns. Big 12 was and always will be a raw deal for NU. We dont get to play our rival and the South has too many good teams we are left with red-headed skank trailer trash teams up here. Down with the whorns and the Big 12. That being said we will beat em' all in the end whether the field is level or not. We all know the North is not level we can beat all the North teams on recruiting and money.

[TrueHuskerFan20]

the talent base from texas is just far too great. unlike other talent-rich states like california and florida, the longhorns are and always will be the main program in that state. why would kids wanna go to texas tech or baylor when they can compete EVERY year at texas. florida state has to deal with florida and miami. USC has UCLA, standford, cal, and others to deal with. texas doesnt have to deal with it as much, so they end up with all the talent.

[skersfan]

Our biggest advantage currently is the staff and the AD. Both are dedicated to bringing the program back to the top. The idea of having a Super Bowl coach helps get their attention. We have great tradition and great fans. And I believe we will get the occasional NC game. I do not see us returning to the level we once had. That was ended by the Big 12 alliance. I really do not see Nebraska leaving the Big 12. A move to the Big 11 might make things worse.

[Hunter94]

the other deal with Texas, and i can tell you 'cause I lived here (Nebr.)and was born and raised and graduated from NU is that Texans are "ate up" with their state and being "from Texas"......nothing wrong with that, but to me this is just a big, hot-ass, fire ant infested state and not much else. i guess i will never understand Texas pride, but i know they force feed Texas state history to the kids in all schools, so you can see where this all gets started........it is ok to be proud of your state, but i just don't see what there is to get so excited about down here.....I guess that victory at the Alamo was a big-deal! (but looking around it looks like a peacful invasion has taken place)

 

anyway, most kids want to stay here (they haven't seen anything else and some have never left the state) and sports is a big deal, so with the size of the state/population base and all, they have a lock on some damn good talent....that is not likely to ever change.......so the other schools in the Big 12 will just have to learn to deal with it....successful coaching at NU and other schools is the only attractive thing to bring a kid into their program from Texas, and then only if UT, A&M and Tech have gotten their fill and don't need/want these kids in their program........

 

 

hunter

[hoyamannn]

Parity in the North is not the question. How do we compete with Texas down the road. We do not nor will we ever have the money or facilities to compete with Texas. As Eric said how will the NCAA get it done. I have no idea, but this Big 12 deal was not good for Nebraska at any time. Nor will it ever be. Texas will always run the show.

We have a $50 million stadium improvement going on right now. How is that not competing with Texas?

 

I know we may not have AS MUCH money, but we still have many alumni who are die-hard Husker fans and will pump some $ when it is needed in order for NU to compete at the highest level. Heck, right now UT is playing catch-up to us, we have the biggest TV screen in college FB and they don't!

 

Again, when you talk about the big sports (baseball/men/women basketball/football/volleyball) we have the resources, just not the abundance of talent next door like they do.

[skersfan]

Not even close Hoyamann,

 

They dropped 73 million a few years back and I heard something about over 90 coming in soon. On the Big 12 show on Fox last year they stated that no one in the counrty even came close to their facilities. They just ordered a Jumbo Tron so it would be bigger than our new one. It is suppose to be up this year.

 

The kids in Texas have High School facilities that most colleges do not have. We can not compare with them on that level. If it ever comes to that they will just roll our more and more. State pride and money is endless in Texas. My guess them, SC and Notre Dame are 1,2,3 and not in any order.

 

We have to do it with coaching, that is the only chance.