The College Football Hall of Fame Upon His Retirement After the 1997 Season
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CORNHU THIS IS NEBRASKA or more than a century, the legacy of Nebraska Football has been growing. From its humble beginning in 1890 – when two games made an entire schedule – to 2008, where an established, nationally prominent program enjoys a rich history of success, Nebraska’s student-athletes have entertained and excelled on all levels. Five national championships and F43 conference titles highlight the accomplishments of one of college football’s most storied programs. There have been Heisman winners and Outland Trophy recipients, a nation-leading number of Academic All-Americans, a Big 12-best graduation rate and many professional football stars. But underlying all of the countless accolades is a football family that does not rely on wins and losses as the fi nal indicator of excellence. Nebraska Football is much more than talented athletes and coaches taking the fi eld to play a game – it is a family. The fans, support staff and student-athletes are all Dedicated to Excellence through Integrity, Trust, Respect, Teamwork and Loyalty. It is this commitment on and off the fi eld that makes Nebraska unique and assures that the rich tradition of the Huskers will keep growing for years to come. Nebraska started the new millennium the same way it ended the last - among the nation’s elite. In the 1980s and 1990s, Nebraska became the fi rst team in the history of Division I football to post 100 wins in back-to-back decades. Since the start of the 1970s, Nebraska has posted the best record of any Division I team (374-92-5). That outstanding tradition began with Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne and continues in 2008 with Coach Bo Pelini. Tom Osborne (right) guided Nebraska football to national prominence and coached Husker teams to three national titles between 1994 and 1997. Osborne was immediately inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame upon his retirement after the 1997 season. He became Nebraska’s Athletic Director in October of 2007. The roots of Nebraska football date back to 1890, when Dr. Langdon Frothingham led NU’s fi rst team to a 2-0 record. Nebraska football teams were known as the Old Gold Knights, the Antelopes and the Bugeaters before the 1900 team adopted the name “Cornhuskers.” 4 HUSKER FOOTBALL USKERS 5 Captured fi ve national titles in 1970, Winning Tradition 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997 • Nebraska is one of just four schools with 800 or more all-time victories 4444 All-time bowl appearances • Seven Huskers have won a nation- leading eight Outland Trophies 228989 NCAA-record 289 consecutive home sellouts in Memorial • Since 1960, 75 Huskers have earned Stadium dating back to 1962 fi rst-team All-America honors 226060 Nation-leading 260 CoSIDA • Since 1997, Nebraska leads all Big 12 Academic All-Americans across Conference schools with 59 players all sports chosen in the NFL Draft. No other Big 12 team has had 46 draft choices 9944 percent graduation rate - a Big • The Huskers have won 34 12 leading rate conference titles outright and shared another nine crowns 3 Eric Crouch (2001), Mike Rozier (1983) and Johnny Rodgers • Nebraska has played on television (1972) give Nebraska a trio of more than 260 times in the last Heisman winners 53 years. Milestone Victories 1 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 Nov. 27, 1890 Nov. 16, 1907 Oct. 31, 1925 Oct. 24, 1942 Oct. 23, 1965 Oct. 16, 1976 Oct. 18, 1986 Oct. 5, 1996 Oct. 14, 2006 NU 10 NU 63 NU 12 NU 7 NU 38 NU 51 NU 48 NU 39 NU 21 Omaha YMCA 0 Denver 0 Oklahoma 0 Oklahoma 0 Colorado 13 Kansas St. 0 Missouri 17 Kansas St. 3 Kansas St. 3 Lincoln, Neb. Denver, Colo. Lincoln, Neb. Norman, Okla. Lincoln, Neb. Lincoln, Neb. Lincoln, Neb. Manhattan, Kan. Manhattan, Kan. 2008 HUSKER FOOTBALL 5 CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION Few college athletic programs can boast the national championship resume of Nebraska football. Since 1970, Nebraska has won more games than any other team in the country, captured fi ve national championships, and played for a national title in a bowl game on four other occasions. The Huskers are one of only three college football teams to win fi ve national championships since 1970, and one of only six to capture at least three titles. Nebraska’s National Championship Bowl Victories 1971 Orange Bowl #3 Nebraska 17, #5 LSU 12 1972 Orange Bowl #1 Nebraska 24, #2 Alabama 6 1995 Orange Bowl #1 Nebraska 24, #3 Miami 17 1996 Fiesta Bowl #1 Nebraska 62, #2 Florida 24 1998 Orange Bowl #2 Nebraska 42, #3 Tennessee 17 6 HUSKER FOOTBALL “Choosing to go to school at Nebraska has had the biggest impact on my life, more than any1995 other NATIONAL life CHAMPIONS decision. Not only did I get a chance to play football for the best team in the nation, but for four years I was surrounded by academic advisors, coaches and teachers who genuinely cared about me as a person.” Lombardi Award Winner Grant Wistrom 1994, 1995, 1997 National Champion Top left: Husker football teams have brought home fi ve national titles. In the mid-1990s, Nebraska won three national titles in four years and appeared in four title games from 1993 to 1997. Nebraska’s hardware haul included three Sears Trophies. Top middle: Jerry Tagge scored the winning touchdown in NU’s victory over LSU in the 1971 Orange Bowl to give the Huskers their fi rst national title in 1970. Top right: Lombardi award winner Grant Wistrom presents President Bill Clinton with a 97 jersey as Coach Tom Osborne looks on following the Huskers’ fi fth national championship win. Middle left: Nebraska has won four of its fi ve national championships in the Orange Bowl, including outlasting Miami, 24-17, in a victory on the Hurricanes’ home fi eld in the 1995 game. Middle right: Ahman Green helped the Huskers run away with the 1997 crown over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. Bottom left: Nebraska ran over Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl with quarterback Tommie Frazier leading an offense that produced a bowl-record 524 rushing yards. Bottom right: Hall of Fame Coach Bob Devaney began Nebraska’s national championship tradition by leading the Huskers to back-to-back titles in 1970 and 1971. 2008 HUSKER FOOTBALL 7 CCOACHINGOACHING SSTAFFTAFF Head Coach Bo Pelini has assembled a coaching staff with a championship pedigree. The Cornhusker staff has strong ties to Nebraska and the Big 12 Conference. • Members of the Nebraska coaching staff have been a part of a combined 63 bowl appearances. Four members of the coaching staff have won a national championship as a coach, and six members of the staff have coached in a Bowl Championship Series game. • Eight members of the Husker coaching staff have previous coaching experience at Nebraska. • Nebraska’s offensive staff has strong ties to the Big 12 Conference. All fi ve of the coaches have spent at least three seasons in the Big 12 North Division. • Three members of the Husker coaching staff played college football for the Cornhuskers. “I think the great thing is when you hire Bo Pelini, because he has worked with so many great coaches, the untold story is not that we just get Bo Pelini as a head coach. We now have one of the best coaching staffs in the country.” Trev Alberts, Former Husker All-American and CBS College Sports analyst Pelini’s Coaching Highlights • Five seasons as college defensive coordinator • Nine years as an assistant in National Football League BBoo PPelinielini • Coached in six bowl games, three Bowl HHeadead CCoachoach Championship Series games and 11 NFL FFirstirst SSeasoneason playoff games OOhiohio SState,tate, 11990990 8 HUSKER FOOTBALL Tim Beck Running Backs First Season Central Florida, 1991 Ron Brown Tight Ends 18th Season Brown, 1979 Barney Cotton Associate Head Coach/ Offensive Line Second Season Nebraska, 1983 Mike Ekeler Linebackers First Season Kansas State, 1995 Ted Gilmore Assistant Head Coach/ Wide Receivers/ Recruiting Coordinator Fourth Season Wyoming, 1991 John Papuchis Defensive Ends First Season Virginia Tech, 2001 Carl Pelini Defensive Coordinator/ Defensive Line First Season Youngstown State, 1989 Marvin Sanders Secondary Second Season Nebraska, 1989 Shawn Watson HUSKERS Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks Third Season Southern Illinois, 1982 2008 HUSKER FOOTBALL 9 DDEFENSIVEEFENSIVE DDOMINANCEOMINANCE One of the Huskers’ most well-known traditions is the Blackshirts, which has become the common nickname for Nebraska’s defensive unit. The term originally dates back to the early 1960s and refers to the black jerseys that Nebraska’s fi rst-string defenders wear in practice. With the return of the two-platoon system in college football in 1964, the Huskers were preparing for a game at Minnesota, and Head Coach Bob Devaney looked for a way to distinguish the defensive units on the practice fi elds. Devaney dispatched assistant coach Mike Corgan to a local sporting goods store to fi nd some “contrast jerseys,” a sleeveless pullover that went on top of the players’ practice jerseys. While the top offensive unit practiced in red jerseys and the second-string offense worked in green pullovers, the fi rst string defense wore black pullovers and the second string wore the contrasting gold jerseys. The term began to catch on during Monte Kiffin’s tenure as defensive coordinator in the mid-1970s, before the Blackshirts earned national acclaim under Charlie McBride, who served as the Huskers’ defensive coordinator from 1982 to 1999. Blackshirt Tradition • Nebraska has ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense 21 times since 1964. • Nebraska has ranked among the nation’s top 10 in all four major defensive categories (rush defense, pass defense, total defense and scoring defense) on four occasions, including helping the Huskers to national titles in 1994, 1995 and 1997.