People say it can’t be done at Penn State. Well, Nebraska just did it. And what really is the difference between the two places?
On Tuesday, Nebraska confirmed a bold financial investment and a statement about its intentions to win and win big in college basketball. It held a press conference announcing the hiring of Fred Hoiberg as its basketball coach.
Athletic director Bill Moos, who last year persuaded Scott Frost to come home and coach the Cornhuskers’ football team, on Friday landed Hoiberg, another perfect fit. He paid $25 million over 7 years to get him. That’s what it takes to excel.
He’s everything you want in a coach and a representative of a university – acutely knowledgeable at his craft yet well-rounded in a larger realm, intense but level-headed, a little buttoned-up of demeanor yet with a dry sense of humor.
And here’s the best part: He’s a perfect fit for Nebraska. His parents graduated from there. His grandfather was the basketball coach there in the 1950s. He was born in Lincoln.
He’s exactly what you need when stuff doesn’t work right away and initial plans go awry – a man with a feel for the area and the job. People will give him time because he belongs there. Unlike Mike Riley who was an immigrant from another region brought in by a remote, job-hopping AD, this is a coach who belongs in Lincoln. And Moos paid what was necessary to get him. Actually, I think he’s something of a bargain at $3.6 million annually. That’s what the market demands.
