Tom Osborne

Tom Osborne is an American football coach, administrator, and former politician whose 25-year tenure as head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers produced three national championships and made him one of the winningest coaches in major-college football history. He was born Thomas William Osborne on February 23, 1937, in Hastings, Nebraska. He played quarterback at Hastings College, graduating in 1959, then played briefly in the National Football League with the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins from 1959 to 1961.

He earned his master's and doctoral degrees in educational psychology at the University of Nebraska while serving as a graduate assistant under head coach Bob Devaney. He joined Devaney's staff full-time in 1964, became offensive coordinator, and succeeded Devaney as head coach in 1973. Over the next 25 seasons he posted a record of 255 wins, 49 losses, and 3 ties, with 13 conference championships in the Big Eight and Big 12.

His Nebraska teams won national championships in 1994, 1995, and 1997. The 1995 squad — led by quarterback Tommie Frazier — went 12-0, defeated Florida 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl, and is regularly cited among the strongest single-season teams in college football history. He retired from coaching after the 1997 season and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

He served three terms as the Republican United States Representative from Nebraska's 3rd congressional district from 2001 to 2007, then ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Nebraska in 2006. He returned to Nebraska as Athletic Director from 2007 to 2013, oversaw the school's move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten Conference, and retired in 2013. Through coaching, Congress, and athletic administration, he became one of the most-prominent public figures in modern Nebraska history.

His name Tom is a short form of Thomas, from the Aramaic T'oma meaning "twin." It has been one of the most-common American boys' names for centuries, and Osborne carried it through one of the longest and most-decorated coaching careers in major-college football.