Athletes - Tom Osborne

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	Athletes - Tom Osborne

Thomas William Osborne (born February 23, 1937 in Hastings, Nebraska) is a former football coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and a current 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.

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). His final championship, which was split with the University of Michigan, was the source of some controversy: Michigan and Nebraska were ranked #1 and #2, respectively, in the both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll going into bowl week, but Michigan was dropped to #2 in the Coaches' Poll despite its 21-16 victory over Washington State University in the Rose Bowl, leading to the widespread perception (especially amongst the Michigan faithful) that the coaches had voted Nebraska #1 only because Osborne had announced his retirement a few weeks earlier. However, others argued that Nebraska had solidified its top ranking by blowing out Peyton Manning and the #3-ranked University of Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowl.

Legacy

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.

As a college football coach, Tom Osborne was respected by his peers, and that legacy continues to the present time. His second national championship team, in 1995, is widely regarded as the best college football team in history, and especially in the modern era. The team won by an average score of 52-14 in the regular season and beat four top 10 teams (as ranked in the final polls) by an average score of 49-18. The team crushed second-ranked Florida in the Fiesta Bowl 62-24, one of the most lopsided games ever in a #1 vs. #2 matchup.

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.

2006 governor's race

On April 30, 2005 Osborne announced that he would be running for Governor of Nebraska. He will be running against current Governor Dave Heineman and Omaha businessman Dave Nabity in the Republican primary.

Despite the majority of Nebraskans (as revealed in local newspaper polls) disagreeing with in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities, Osborne proclaimed during a public debate in March 2006 his desire to have taxpayers support illegal aliens via lower in-state tuition rates. Local outrage included the declarations that returning overseas veterans who are not Nebraska residents must pay the higher out-of-state tuition rate.

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