Randy York's N-Sider Blog
The Official Blog of the Huskers
Rarely is Tom Osborne surprised,
but he was a bit taken aback Tuesday morning when he visited the
Training Table at the Athletic Department’s annual Breakfast during
Finals Week to encourage all Nebraska student-athletes to finish their
first semester with a flourish.
As he has for the past five years, Nebraska’s
athletic director walked around to each table to pat each Husker on his
or her shoulder to thank them and to inspire them at the same time. But
in a grassroots effort driven by the Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee, the student-athletes were the ones thanking their AD, and
Osborne was clearly touched by every single gesture from 130 student-athletes attending the breakfast..
Their thank-yous included a signed hurdle bar
from men’s and women’s track and field, signed jerseys from the
football and baseball teams, a gun case from the rifle team, a carry bag
and giant-sized tennis ball from women’s and men’s tennis, a framed
golf glove from men’s and women’s golf, fishery gear and a framed signed
jersey from women’s and men’s gymnastics, a wooden cross and a
medallion from volleyball, a framed swimming cap from the women’s
swimming and diving team, framed team and field pictures and a blanket
from softball, a framed signed team picture from soccer and bowling pin
wallpapered with all kinds of photos from the past.
Event Was Driven by Student-Athletes
“On his way out the door, Coach told me the
event was very nice and that he really appreciated it, and it meant a
lot to him,” said Keith Zimmer,
Nebraska’s associate athletic director for Life Skills. “I knew it
would because it was student-athlete driven. I told Coach it was
something they wanted to do because they appreciate everything he stands
for and all that he’s done for every single sport.”
Osborne appreciated the program’s
informality. There were no speeches, microphones or fanfare – just a
dining room full of student-athletes preparing for their scholastic home
stretch while honoring a man they respect in the same quiet, humble
manner that he’s shown them since he became Nebraska’s athletic director
in October of 2007.
Because Osborne will retire as AD on Jan. 1,
2013, Finals Week was the Final Time for Nebraska student-athletes to
say goodbye and thank you.
“Every one of our student-athletes knows that
Coach models the values we try to teach every day in Life Skills,”
Zimmer said. “They watch him and they see how he leads and they observe
how he directs, facilitates, encourages and critiques. He does it all in
such a caring, comfortable and non-threatening way that he’s just a
great model for our student-athletes to try and live up to.”
Barrefors: Osborne Best Leader He’s Seen
Björn Barrefors,
the 2012 Big Ten Conference decathlon champion, most likely will become
the first Nebraska student-athlete to receive Academic All-American
recognition four times during his career. Because he’s a native of
Stockholm, Sweden, “I didn’t even know that Tom Osborne was a football
coach,” Barrefors said Tuesday. “But I could tell there was an aura
about him the first time I met him. He was there to listen to me. You
feel so honored just to know him, let alone be able to sit down and talk
to him.
“He’s been so inspiring for me that I want to
become more like him,” Barrefors said. “Everybody talks about being a
better person, but so much of that is just talk. There’s no real action.
But every time I work with him, he inspires me to be more like him. I
mean, I’m not anywhere close to that, but some day in the future, with
more experience, I hope I can improve enough to become someone who
always does exactly what he says he’s going to do. He really does that
better than anyone else I’ve ever seen or met. What he’s shown me is you
can be wildly successful and yet still hold onto the values that are
important to you – like humility. He really is the best leader I’ve ever
seen.”
Dan Kendig,
Nebraska’s highly successful women’s gymnastics coach, said it’s hard
to say goodbye to a man he considers the greatest leader in Nebraska
history. “To see someone start here as a volunteer coach, then become a
grad assistant, then an assistant and then a coordinator before
succeeding Bob Devaney and becoming so successful for 25 straight years
as a head coach is amazing,” Kendig said. “It’s not so much what he did,
but how he did it. He changed people’s lives as a coach, a Congressman
and an athletic director. What he’s done for this university and this
state is a testament to his character. Nobody lives values on a daily
basis like he does.
“Coach came in to fix things in a short
period of time and look at all that he’s accomplished in just five years
as our AD,” Kendig said. “The legacy he’s leaving all of us in five
years is amazing. He started with a new complex for the training table,
academics, life skills and compliance and just kept adding things on to
make a difference for everyone – from the East Stadium and all it’s
going to stand for recruiting-wise and otherwise to a new downtown arena
and what will become a completely new Devaney Center … amazingI”
A Model to Become an Adult and a Woman
Desire’ Stephens,
a sophomore gymnast coached by Kendig, marvels at the new facility and
locker room the Huskers now enjoy. “I’m from Omaha. My parents have
season football tickets, so I’ve been a Husker all my life,” Stephens
said. “I grew up admiring Coach Osborne, and the influence he’s had on
me is amazing. When he got here, he took everything down about him but
the statue with Brook Berringer. He cut his salary in half and
concentrated on everything he could do to help all student-athletes, not
just football. He’s shown me something that I want to aspire to be. I’d
like to have some of that same mindset as I come into adulthood and
become a woman.”
Amanda Burau,
a member of the Nebraska bowling team, wants to be in the same line as
Stephens. “I’ll never forget going up to Tom Osborne’s office last year
to get an autograph for my dad,” said Bura, a junior from Lake in the
Hills, Ill. “He had every interest in seeing me and talking to me. I
could tell immediately how genuine he was and how much he cared about
every athlete on the campus and all of us as students. He loved the
bowling pin we gave him today with 66 pictures from all the previous
teams at Nebraska. He thought it was creative and thanked us for
everything we’ve done. We thanked him. Our team is so small, and we’re
located on the East Campus. But since he’s been here, we’ve always felt
like he appreciates us and cares about us just as much as he cares about
any other sport.”
Ryan Grassel,
a junior golfer from Chesterton, Ind., gave Osborne a shadow box with a
picture frame in the middle and a golf glove signed by both the men’s
and the women’s team. “He was so very appreciative,” Grassel said. “When
I see Rex Burkhead, I don’t see the football player … I see the person.
And when I see Tom Osborne, I don’t see the Hall-of-Fame football coach
… I see the man … the man that my dad has always admired and a man that
I spent an hour listening to a week ago when he spoke at a Fellowship
of Christian Athletes gathering on the third floor. He guides you in the
right direction, focuses on the right things and stays positive.
Instead of telling you what’s wrong, he reinforces what’s right. I’m a
mentor for TeamMates for the Lincoln Public Schools, and I try to listen
to everything he says because it’s always helpful. I can’t believe I’m
in a mentoring program that he started.”
Darin Erstad: A Living Legend’s Legacy
Kyle Kubat,
a sophomore left-handed pitcher from Waterloo, Neb., and Omaha
Creighton Prep, presented Osborne with a throwback Nebraska baseball
jersey. “It was an idea I had. Coach (Darin) Erstad
supported it and everyone on the team loved it and was more than happy
to sign it,” Kubat said. “As a kid, I just kept watching the tape of
Nebraska beating Tennessee and Peyton Manning in the Orange Bowl over
and over and over. It was his last game as Nebraska’s head coach, and
it’s hard for me to believe that we’re getting close to his last day as
our athletic director.
“I remember all the big games he coached,”
Kubat said. “They were fun to watch because of the way we’d win. He
always got the very best from his players and all the people around him.
The legacy he left Nebraska baseball is just as fantastic. He hired
Coach Erstad, who, in my mind, is one of the best coaches in all of
college baseball. He loves the game, the passion and the intensity
behind whatever he does. He comes every day with the same mentality and
the same focus, and it’s fun to play for him.”
Erstad, of course, was a key part of
Osborne’s first national championship team in1994. He was the team’s
placekicker and punter, so count on him to keep the Osborne torch lit as
Nebraska prepares to see a living legend add “Emeritus” to his honorary
AD title for the first six months of 2013.
Osborne Leaving Department in Great Hands
Tuesday’s comprehensive student-athlete thank
you to Tom Osborne “was a simple deal, but the right thing to do,”
Zimmer said. “My guess would be if you ask Tom Osborne out of all the
retirement celebrations that will be held in his honor, my hope would be
that this one would be the most meaningful because the group that
honored him is the group that we all serve every day … it’s our No. 1
clientele … the group that matters most … our student-athletes. They’re
the ones our fans, staff and donors support. That’s why I think he was
so touched. He’s leaving this place in great hands because we’re all
focused on what matters most to him. That’s the legacy he’s leaving, and
the one we all must continue to embrace to be successful.”
Send a comment to ryork@huskers.com (Please include current residence)
Follow Randy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RandyYorkNsider
Randy’s N-Sider Blog Archive
Randy’s N-Sider Column Archive
