Tom Osborne

Tom Osborne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 3rd district
In office 2001 - 2007
Preceded by	Bill Barrett
Succeeded by	Adrian M. Smith
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Nancy Osborne

Thomas William "Tom" Osborne (born February 23, 1937 in Hastings, Nebraska) is a former football coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska's 3rd congressional district.

In 1959, Osborne graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history from Hastings College, after which he played three seasons in the National Football League. He earned his Master of Arts in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) in 1963 and a doctorate in educational psychology there in 1965. He also served in the Nebraska National Guard from 1960 to 1966.

Coaching career

Osborne is best known as the former head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, UNL's football team. Osborne was the head coach from the 1973 season until 1997, and led the Huskers to 13 conference championships and three national championships (1994, 1995, and 1997). It should be noted that his teams came agonizingly close to the National Championship on multiple occasions prior to 1994, including the 1981, 1983 and 1993 seasons. The Cornhuskers were 12-0 entering the 1984 Orange Bowl game and ranked #1 in the country for the entire season. Prior to the Orange Bowl, many felt the 1983 Nebraska team was the best team in the history of college football. Nebraska scored a late touchdown against the then #5 ranked University of Miami to get within 1, 31-30. Rather than attempt an extra point to finish with a tie (and probably win the National Championship), Osborne opted to attempt the 2-point conversion to gain the lead. Had the attempt been successful, the team would have likely won the game and the title. The attempt failed, giving Miami the victory and the 1983 national title. But it cemented his reputation as a great coach who had his teams play to win.

Legacy

In his quarter-century as head coach, Tom Osborne never won fewer than nine games in a season. His 255-49-3 record gave him the best winning percentage (83.6%) among active NCAA Division 1-A coaches at the time of his retirement and the fifth-best of all time. As of 2006, only Joe Paterno has reached 200 victories in fewer games. But Osborne, who went on an NCAA record 60-3 run over his final five seasons, won 250 games faster than any coach in Division 1-A history. Osborne was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2000, he received the Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award. Osborne will be forever be known as a "thinking coach" whose complicated offensive schemes threw many a defensive coordinator for a loop. He will also always be known for standing by his players in his relentless attempt to impart life's lessons, including his unsuccessful attempt to right running back Lawrence Phillips who was allowed back on the team after assaulting a former girlfriend after a football game.

Osborne hand-picked assistant Frank Solich to succeed him after the 1997 season. Many close to the program believe Osborne would have continued to coach beyond 1997 if he hadn't promised Solich the position years earlier in an attempt to retain him as his top assistant.

Political career

House of Representatives

Since January 3, 2001, Osborne has represented Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party and sits on the Committees on Agriculture; Education and the Workforce; and Resources. Osborne is generally considered a political conservative, although he has been somewhat in the middle with regards to immigration issues.

Most recently, Osborne has teamed up with Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers, normally his political adversary, to oppose efforts to expand gambling in Nebraska.[1]

2006 governor's race

Main article: Nebraska gubernatorial election, 2006

In 2006, Osborne ran for Governor of Nebraska, challenging appointed Governor Dave Heineman and Omaha businessman Dave Nabity in the Republican primary. Heineman took 49 percent of the more than 197,000 votes cast, and Osborne 45 percent [2].

The Lincoln Journal Star analyzed the race:

While Osborne captured populous Omaha and Lincoln, Heineman sealed his victory in rural counties and key population centers in western and central Nebraska’s critical Republican battleground....

...it was the political impact of two gubernatorial vetoes that appeared to lift [Heineman ] into a late surge, especially in Osborne’s congressional district.

Heineman’s opposition to Class I rural school reorganization and the granting of resident college tuition rates to the children of illegal immigrants cut into Osborne’s support.

Osborne declined to sign referendum petitions seeking voter repeal of the rural school legislation and said he would have signed the resident tuition bill." [3]

External links

• Heart of a Husker: Tom Osborne's Nebraska Legacy by Mike Babcock, published by Sports Publishing L.L.C., 2006
• United States Congress. "Tom Osborne (id: O000165)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• College Football Hall of Fame: Tom Osborne
• Huskerpedia: Tom Osborne
• 2006 Nebraska CD 3 Candidate List from VIS
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post