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 (map).
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 Nebraska rose to #1 in the Coaches' Poll following a solid 42-17 defeat of Peyton Manning and the #3-ranked University of Tennessee 42-17 in the Orange Bowl. Michigan dropped in the Coaches' Poll to #2, despite its 21-16 victory over #21 Washington State University in the Rose Bowl. Some believed that the coaches voted Nebraska #1 because Osborne had announced his retirement only a few weeks earlier, but others felt that Nebraska's easy defeat of the #3 team in the nation was more impressive than Michigan's close game against the #9 team.
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 considered by many to be the best college football team in history, and especially in the modern era. The team won by an average score of 52-12 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
In 2006, Osborne ran for Governor of Nebraska, challenging incumbent 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 [1].
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." [2]