Tom Osborne

Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and politician from Nebraska.

As a senior in 1955, he was named Nebraska High School Athlete of The Year by the Omaha World-Herald. He graduated from Hastings College with a BA in history in 1959.

At Hastings, Osborne quarterbacked the football team and became the first male athlete in Nebraska to be named both the high school (1955) and college (1959) athlete of the year by the Omaha World-Herald.

He was also the 1958 recipient of the Emil S. Liston Award, which was given annually to the most outstanding National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics NAIA junior basketball player who displayed high athletic and scholastic achievement.

Osborne was selected in the nineteenth round (222nd overall) of the 1959 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

He was eventually released by the 49ers without playing in a regular season game.

He also served in the Nebraska Army National Guard from 1960 to 1966.

The Washington Redskins picked up Osborne in 1960 and he made his NFL debut on November 6 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

He had one reception for eight yards in a 44–6 Redskins loss.

In his second game a few weeks later, Osborne caught six passes for 36 yards against the Cleveland Browns, but Washington lost again, 27–16.

Osborne saw more playing time in 1961, starting twelve games.

He scored his first career touchdown against the Browns in Week 4, and his second against the Cardinals in Week 12.

Osborne's last career game, a 34–24 Washington win over Dallas, was his only career victory.

In 1962, Osborne joined Nebraska's coaching staff as an unpaid assistant to head coach Bob Devaney; his only compensation was the ability to dine at the athletic training table.

Osborne earned a Master's degree in educational psychology in 1963 and completed his doctorate in 1965, both at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Osborne's first job at the university was counselor in the Selleck Quadrangle, where he oversaw a floor of freshmen football players.

After disappointing 6–4 seasons in both 1967 and 1968, Devaney named Osborne offensive coordinator for the 1969 season.

Osborne immediately overhauled the offense, switching to a balanced attack operated from the I formation.

The revamped offense sparked the 1970 Cornhuskers to the first national title in program history.

Nebraska defeated LSU 17–12 in the Orange Bowl on New Year's night and finished first in the post-bowl AP Poll.

Nebraska won the national title again in 1971, becoming the first champion ever to defeat the next three teams in the final AP Poll (Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alabama).

Devaney stepped down as head coach after the 1972 season to concentrate on his duties as athletic director, and named Osborne his successor.

Devaney's final game was a convincing win over Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, Nebraska's third straight Orange Bowl victory.

He served as head football coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1973 to 1997 (25 seasons).

Osborne was named Devaney's successor in 1973, and over the next 25 years established himself as one of the best coaches in college football history with his trademark I-formation offense and revolutionary strength, conditioning, and nutrition programs.

He retired with a career record of .830, 13 conference titles, and three national championships.

Using Osborne's trademark I-form option, Nebraska led the nation in rushing several times in the 1980s and 1990s, due to the efforts of players like Jarvis Redwine, Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier, Calvin Jones, Ahman Green, and Lawrence Phillips.

His teams never won fewer than nine games in a season, only finished worse than third in conference or division play once, finished in the top 15 of the final AP poll 24 out of 25 years, and were ranked in the top 25 for 304 out of his 307 games as head coach–including every weekly poll from October 12, 1981 onward.

He coached 53 All-Americans, including 1983 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier.

Born and raised in Hastings, a town in rural central Nebraska, Osborne was a star athlete at Hastings High School in football, basketball, and track.

Osborne's teams won outright national championships in 1994 and 1995, and a share of another in 1997.

Osborne's Huskers also won or shared 13 conference championships (12 Big Eight, one Big 12).

His 255–49–3 record gave him the best winning percentage (83.6%) among active coaches at the time of his retirement and the fifth-best of all time, and he won 250 games faster than any coach in Division I-A history.

Osborne finished his coaching career with a bowl record of 12–13.

Osborne's teams were known for their powerful rushing attack and strong defense (also known as the Blackshirts—a reference to the black jerseys worn in practice by NU's defensive starters).

At age 35, Osborne took over as Nebraska's head coach, a position he would hold for 25 years until his retirement following the 1997 season.

In his quarter-century as head coach, Osborne was a model of consistency.

After being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, Osborne was elected to Congress in 2000 from Nebraska's third district as a Republican.

He served three terms (2001–2007), returned to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as athletic director in 2007, and retired in 2013.

Osborne played college football as a quarterback and wide receiver at Hastings College, and soon after finishing his brief National Football League (NFL) career, he was hired by Nebraska head coach Bob Devaney as an assistant.