Tom Osborne facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tom Osborne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 3rd district
In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Bill Barrett
Succeeded by	Adrian Smith
Personal details
Born	(1937-02-23) February 23, 1937 (age 88) Hastings, Nebraska, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Nancy Tederman ​ (m. 1962)​
Children	3
Education	Hastings College (BA) University of Nebraska-Lincoln (MA, PhD)
Coaching career
Playing career
1955–1958	Hastings
1959	San Francisco 49ers
1960–1961	Washington Redskins
Position(s)	Quarterback, wide receiver
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1964–1968	Nebraska (assistant)
1969–1972	Nebraska (OC)
1973–1997	Nebraska
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1979–1998	Nebraska (assistant AD)
2007–2013	Nebraska
Head coaching record
Overall	255–49–3
Bowls	12–13
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3 national (1994, 1995, 1997) 12 Big Eight (1975, 1978, 1981–84, 1988, 1991–95) 1 Big 12 (1997) 2 Big 12 North Division (1996, 1997)
Awards
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year (1978) ESPN Coach of the Decade (1999) National Coach of the Year (1994) Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award 7× Big Eight Coach of Year (1975, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992–94) Big 12 Coach of the Year (1996) 2× Nebraska's College Athlete of the Year (1958, 1959) Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame (1994) Nebraska's High School Athlete of the Year (1955)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1999 (profile)
Scientific career
Fields	Educational psychology
Thesis	The Effects of Instructions on Situational Anxiety Level and Examination Performance (1965)
Doctoral advisors	Warren Bailer Robert Ross

Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937) is a famous American figure. He was a football player, a successful coach, a college sports leader, and even a politician from Nebraska. He is best known for being the head football coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for 25 seasons, from 1973 to 1997.

After being added to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, Osborne was elected to Congress in 2000. He represented Nebraska's third district as a Republican. He served three terms until 2007. Later, he returned to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as the athletic director in 2007 and retired in 2013.

Osborne played college football as a quarterback and wide receiver at Hastings College. After a short career in the National Football League (NFL), he became an assistant coach at Nebraska. He became the head coach in 1973. Over the next 25 years, he became one of the best coaches in college football history. He was known for his special "I-formation" offense and new training programs. He retired with an amazing record of 255 wins, 49 losses, and 3 ties. His teams won 13 conference titles and three national championships. He coached many top players, including Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier.

Early Life and Education

Tom Osborne was born and grew up in Hastings, a small town in central Nebraska. He was a fantastic athlete at Hastings High School. He excelled in football, basketball, and track. In 1955, as a senior, he was named Nebraska High School Athlete of The Year.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Hastings College in 1959. He continued his education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. There, he earned a Master's degree in educational psychology in 1963 and a doctorate in 1965. His first job at the university was helping freshmen football players as a counselor. He also served in the Nebraska Army National Guard from 1960 to 1966.

Playing Football

At Hastings College, Osborne was the quarterback for the football team. He was the first male athlete in Nebraska to be named both the high school (1955) and college (1959) athlete of the year. He also won the Emil S. Liston Award in 1958 for being an outstanding junior basketball player with high athletic and academic achievements.

Playing in the NFL

The San Francisco 49ers picked Osborne in the 1959 NFL draft. However, he was released before playing in a regular season game.

In 1960, the Washington Redskins signed Osborne. He played his first NFL game on November 6, 1960. In his second game, he caught six passes for 36 yards. He played more in 1961, starting twelve games. He scored his first touchdown in Week 4 and his second in Week 12. His last game was his only win in his NFL career.

Coaching Career

Osborne, around 1965

Nebraska Cornhuskers

In 1962, Osborne joined the Nebraska coaching staff as an unpaid assistant. He was only paid with meals from the athletic training table. After some tough seasons, head coach Bob Devaney made Osborne the offensive coordinator in 1969. Osborne changed the offense to a balanced attack. This new offense helped the 1970 Cornhuskers win their first national championship. They beat LSU 17–12 in the Orange Bowl. Nebraska won the national title again in 1971. They became the first champions to beat the next three top teams in the final poll.

Devaney retired as head coach after the 1972 season. He chose Osborne to take over. Osborne was 35 years old when he became Nebraska's head coach. He held this job for 25 years until he retired after the 1997 season.

During his 25 years as head coach, Osborne's teams were incredibly consistent. They never won fewer than nine games in a season. They almost always finished in the top 15 in national rankings. His teams were ranked in the top 25 for 304 out of 307 games he coached. Osborne's teams won national championships in 1994, 1995, and 1997. They also won or shared 13 conference championships. His record of 255 wins, 49 losses, and 3 ties gave him one of the best winning percentages ever.

Osborne's teams were famous for their powerful running game and strong defense. The defense was known as the "Blackshirts." Nebraska often led the nation in rushing in the 1980s and 1990s. This was thanks to players like Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier.

One memorable game was the 1984 Orange Bowl. Nebraska was undefeated and ranked No. 1. They scored a late touchdown against Miami. This cut Miami's lead to 31–30. Instead of kicking for a tie, Osborne chose to try for a two-point conversion to win the game. However, the pass was blocked, and Miami won their first national championship.

Nebraska lost another close championship game in the 1994 Orange Bowl. They were big underdogs but led Florida State 16–15 with little time left. Florida State scored to take the lead 18–16. Nebraska tried a last-second field goal, but it missed.

The very next year, Osborne finally won his first national title. They beat Miami in the Orange Bowl. The Huskers came back from being down 10–0 to win 24–17. The next year, the Cornhuskers had an amazing season. They won every game by at least 14 points. They beat Florida 62–24 in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl for Osborne's second national championship. Many people think the 1995 Nebraska team was the best college football team ever.

Osborne announced his retirement late in the 1997 season. He chose Frank Solich to take over. In his final game, Nebraska won the national championship again, beating Tennessee 42–17. In his last five seasons, Osborne's record was an incredible 60 wins and only 3 losses.

Awards and Recognition

• In 1995, Osborne received the Golden Plate Award.
• In 1998, Nebraska renamed the playing field at Memorial Stadium "Tom Osborne Field."
• He was added to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
• He received the Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
• ESPN named Osborne the "coach of the decade" for the 1990s.
• In 2007, a poll named Osborne the "greatest college football coach of all time."
• In 2013, the NAIA Football National Championship trophy was named the "Tom Osborne Trophy."
• In 2018, Osborne was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame.

Coaches Who Worked Under Osborne

Many of Osborne's assistant coaches and players went on to become head coaches at other colleges. This shows how well he taught and led his teams. Some examples include:

• Craig Bohl (coached at North Dakota State and Wyoming)
• Scott Frost (coached at UCF and Nebraska)
• Turner Gill (coached at Buffalo, Kansas, and Liberty)
• Frank Solich (coached at Nebraska and Ohio)

Athletic Director Role

From 1979 to 1998, Osborne also worked as an assistant athletic director at Nebraska.

In 2007, Osborne became the interim athletic director for the University of Nebraska. He later became the full-time athletic director. In 2010, Osborne made a big decision for Nebraska sports. He led the school to leave the Big 12 Conference and join the Big Ten. This was a major change for the university's sports programs. He retired from this role on January 2, 2013.

Political Career

Serving in Congress

In 2000, Tom Osborne decided to run for Congress in Nebraska's 3rd District as a Republican. Even though he hadn't lived in that district for a long time, he was very popular across the state. He easily won the Republican primary and then the main election. He was reelected in 2002 and 2004.

In Congress, Osborne was known for having moderate to conservative views. He served three terms, from 2001 to 2007. After his time in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed him to a board that helps with national service programs in 2007.

Running for Governor

In 2006, Osborne ran for Governor of Nebraska. He challenged the current governor, Dave Heineman. Many people thought Osborne would win because he was so popular. However, he lost a close race to Heineman. The election was very close, with Heineman winning 49% of the votes to Osborne's 45%.

See also

• List of college football career coaching wins leaders