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5 minutes ago, ButtFumble said:

a little off topic, but what ever happened with the proposal in Iowa to allocate state university funding based more on enrollment that was going to mean a lot more money for ISU and less for Iowa?

No idea.  Honestly don't even remember this being a thing.

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13 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

No idea.  Honestly don't even remember this being a thing.

looking at the google it looks like it was further back than I remember in 2015 (at least the one that passed) and ISU got about $12 million more and Iowa lost a bit of funding

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1 hour ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Along with the rumors that LHN will fold and be replaced by a Big 12 Network with tv money being shared equally between all the schools in the conference. Swirl away. 

Perhaps I needed a sarcasm emoji.  NU is a bad house in a very desirable neighborhood currently.  They need to get an above average contractor to fix that bitch up.  They will likely never have the house tOSU has or UM has but upper third for the neighborhood is achievable.  The current contractor fucking stuff up better watch his ass with this move.

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44 minutes ago, Bodhi said:

Perhaps I needed a sarcasm emoji.  NU is a bad house in a very desirable neighborhood currently.  They need to get an above average contractor to fix that bitch up.  They will likely never have the house tOSU has or UM has but upper third for the neighborhood is achievable.  The current contractor fucking stuff up better watch his ass with this move.

They are not even in the same league as those two.   They had a good run of football, until about 2 decades ago, but by every other measurement of a university they are the same or behind even the major schools within about 300 miles of them.

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2 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Along with the rumors that LHN will fold and be replaced by a Big 12 Network with tv money being shared equally between all the schools in the conference. Swirl away. 

Yeah cable TV is definitely the wise thing for our league to be investing in. The way of the future...

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21 hours ago, Bodhi said:

Some early speculation Lincoln native and former NU player Ed Stewart will be next A.D.  Ed is the Big 12's executive associate commissioner for football currently.  Let the NU to Big 12 rumors swirl.  

Sarcasm or not, their athletic department would be better off in the Big 12.  

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8 minutes ago, camel at sea said:

Sarcasm or not, their athletic department would be better off in the Big 12.  

Probably, but fuck 'em and the entirety of that bitchmade fan base. I'd rather bring back arky, tbh. Sure piggy's fan base is full of uneducated, toothless,  hicks, but they don't pretend to be something they aren't. We have a rivalry with Arky....whatever we had with corn can be better described as a prison gangbang. 

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4 hours ago, Blotto said:

Probably, but fuck 'em and the entirety of that bitchmade fan base. I'd rather bring back arky, tbh. Sure piggy's fan base is full of uneducated, toothless,  hicks, but they don't pretend to be something they aren't. We have a rivalry with Arky....whatever we had with corn can be better described as a prison gangbang. 

Lol Arkansas has zero motivation to jump conferences. Their complaints about the SWC were 100 legit in 1990; Nebraska’s in 2010 weren’t….

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8 minutes ago, Ignatius said:

Lol Arkansas has zero motivation to jump conferences. Their complaints about the SWC were 100 legit in 1990; Nebraska’s in 2010 weren’t….

No doubt. Just stating if we were going to take back conference mates from our past, I would much rather have arky. 

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17 minutes ago, Ignatius said:

Lol Arkansas has zero motivation to jump conferences. Their complaints about the SWC were 100 legit in 1990; Nebraska’s in 2010 weren’t….

They have some reason to leave.  They're completely irrelevant in the SEC, and they would reunite with legitimate rivals and reduce travel in the Big 12.  Ames is closer to Fayetteville than all but a few SEC schools.

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7 hours ago, Blotto said:

Probably, but fuck 'em and the entirety of that bitchmade fan base. I'd rather bring back arky, tbh. Sure piggy's fan base is full of uneducated, toothless,  hicks, but they don't pretend to be something they aren't. We have a rivalry with Arky....whatever we had with corn can be better described as a prison gangbang. 

The hate is why they should be here. 

Bring back Corn and then swap WVU for Arky.  Texas and OU both get their secondary rivals back.  Corn and Arky get the potential for national relevance back.  The TV side gets a higher audience ceiling ($) for our Tier 1 football inventory.  

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12 hours ago, Bodhi said:

A very compelling closing statement in the sales pitch. 

Hahaha, debates about Ames over Starkville aside, the pitch to Piggy is basically, "do you think you can win more games, do ya punk?"

From 2010-2020:

ARKANSAS

Conference record: 25-55

Overall record: 58-67

Bowl record: 3-2

Coaches: Bobby Petrino 2010-2011, John L. Smith 2012, Bret Bielema 2013-2017, Chad Morris 2018-2019, Barry Lunney Jr. (two-game interim) 2019

That's with an 8 game conference schedule.

The only team with less conference wins in the SEC over that span was Vandy, who lost three more.  Newcomers Missouri and Aggy won more and didn't even play the entire decade.

They're so irrelevant now we're not even talking about them on their own topic.  Close with that.

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7 minutes ago, Hurtlocker said:

Hahaha, debates about Ames over Starkville aside, the pitch to Piggy is basically, "do you think you can win more games, do ya punk?"

From 2010-2020:

ARKANSAS

Conference record: 25-55

Overall record: 58-67

Bowl record: 3-2

Coaches: Bobby Petrino 2010-2011, John L. Smith 2012, Bret Bielema 2013-2017, Chad Morris 2018-2019, Barry Lunney Jr. (two-game interim) 2019

That's with an 8 game conference schedule.

The only team with less conference wins in the SEC over that span was Vandy, who lost three more.

They're so irrelevant now we're not even talking about them on their own topic.  Close with that.

No wonder their highlight of the past decade was beating UT in the Texas bowl

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12 hours ago, Nolacycling said:

West Virginia says hi.

It's still closer to Fayetteville than the farthest flung of the SEC schools.  West Virginia is the farthest Big 12 trip for Arkansas by a considerable margin, with Lubbock being the second farthest.  Lubbock is closer than some of Arkansas's divisional games.

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How failure and chaos have defined Nebraska athletics for nearly 30 years

Quote

Bob Devaney wasn’t going down without a fight.

The godfather of Nebraska sports, 76-year-old author of two football national championships, had spent 25 years as Husker athletic director when, in January 1992, he asked the Board of Regents to extend his contract. Trouble was Devaney had already agreed six months earlier to retire in January 1993.

The regents declined his extension request. In March ’92, Nebraska began a national search for Devaney’s replacement. First-year chancellor Graham Spanier predicted that it would take several months.

Spanier, a 43-year-old sociologist who came to Nebraska from Oregon State, would eventually attract criticism for allegedly pushing a liberal social agenda at NU. But his first controversy came in athletics.

Bob Devaney, the godfather of Husker athletics, and Tom Osborne wanted assistant Al Papik to succeed Devaney as athletic director after his retirement in 1993. Graham Spanier won the power struggle, setting off 29 years of unrest in the Nebraska athletic department.

Devaney conceded the battle to continue as A.D., but he lobbied for assistant Al Papik to succeed him. More importantly, so did the head football coach. Tom Osborne had his eyes on the A.D. job once he retired. Papik could fill the seat until Osborne was ready.

While Osborne made plans, Papik didn’t make the selection committee's list of finalists. Uh oh. The conflict ramped up.

Dan Hergert, president of the Touchdown Club booster club, told The World-Herald that he’d spoken to Osborne and believed that the coach might leave if Papik didn’t get the job.

”I'm almost sure that if they bring in another A.D.," Hergert said, "that Tom Osborne will leave within a year.”

Major donor Lee Sapp echoed the concern: "If we don't keep Al, I think we're going to lose Tom Osborne in a couple of years. If we lose Tom, I think everything is going to go down the tubes.”

Said Hergert: “(Spanier) is obviously thinking on a different wavelength than most Nebraskans.

“The continuity of the program had been set. Bob was football coach and then moved to A.D. Then Tom was promoted, and the guys who stayed thought Tom would eventually be A.D., Frank Solich would become coach, the continuity would continue and everybody would be happy.

“But now they're all upset.”

Osborne chose a more diplomatic tone.

“I don't want to come off sounding petty or vindictive because that's not how I am,” he said. “I will say I have had some strong feelings on this. They were expressed through the proper channels.”

What about Devaney? Well, you know Devaney. He didn’t care what anyone thought. Imagine opening your newspaper in June 1992 to read about “Dream Team” preparations for the Barcelona Olympics and seeing this quote.

“I can't call Spanier what I would like to,” Devaney said. “I guess the nicest thing I can say is I don't understand him.”

Whoa.

In the midst of Nebraska’s latest power struggle — Bill Moos’ abrupt retirement — you might conclude that Husker athletics is trending toward chaos. But it can’t get any wilder than it’s already been. Bill Byrne. Steve Pederson. Osborne. Shawn Eichorst.

Athletic directors rarely leave Lincoln when they want, or in a manner that satisfies everyone. And the battles waged this decade aren’t much different from those in the Husker glory days. Insiders vs. outsiders. Fresh ideas vs. old ways.

June 1992 started a tug-of-war that has never really stopped.

OUTSIDER IN OFFICE

The chancellor didn’t back down. Ultimately, the outsider got his way. On June 26, 1992, Spanier named Bill Byrne as Nebraska’s new A.D.

Osborne, 55, swallowed his pride. Hiring an outside A.D. likely would keep him from ever holding the job, he said.

“You wouldn't think they would hire somebody from the outside for just four or five years,” he said. “And I plan to coach for a while longer.”

Then Osborne ignited the best run in school history. Spanier left for Penn State in 1995, two months after the first national championship, but tensions persisted between Byrne and Osborne.

Graham Spanier left for Penn State in 1995, two months after the first national championship, but tensions persisted between Bill Byrne and Tom Osborne — in the midst of the best run in school history. 

Byrne had his defenders: He helped erase $2.5 million in athletic department debt and more than doubled the budget. He made several successful hires, most notably Dave Van Horn, raised NU’s performance in non-revenue sports and oversaw massive facility upgrades, including $36.1 million devoted to Memorial Stadium. Annual donations to the athletic department rose by 400%.

But according to his critics, “Dollar Bill” squeezed ordinary fans for cash while forgetting where his corn was buttered — the football program.

Bill Byrne helped erase $2.5 million in athletic department debt and more than doubled the budget. But according to his critics, “Dollar Bill” squeezed ordinary fans for cash while forgetting where his corn was buttered — the football program.

Angst boiled over during Frank Solich’s 7-7 season.

On October 22, 2002, Byrne said fans and small donors had contacted him to criticize Nebraska's football staff, but he hadn't paid attention to them. “The boosters of substance and influence,” he said, stood behind Solich.

“Boosters of substance?” The average season ticket holder didn’t like that.

Byrne determined it was time to go. Upset by university budget cuts, Van Horn’s exit to Arkansas, probation in the wrestling and swimming programs, a salary that placed him roughly eighth among Big 12 athletic directors ($225,000) and a looming football crisis, he left NU for Texas A&M — one day after Solich fired three assistant coaches. Byrne confessed that “the repeated pounding” from critics played a role.

Osborne, recently reelected to Congress, expressed well wishes for the departed A.D. while reiterating his beef with Byrne.

Football recruits “don't look at skyboxes or the new baseball park,” Osborne said. Football facilities “need to be addressed immediately.”

The conflict seems asinine now, doesn’t it? Husker sports rolled through the '90s. Yet the culture still wasn’t right.

“We do need some healing,” Chancellor Harvey Perlman said. “We can’t afford to have these kinds of civil wars. There is a joyous side to the passion for Nebraska athletics and there is a dark side. We have to find a way to get rid of the dark side.”

Whom did Perlman find to replace Byrne?

The man recommended by Osborne and Byrne. The man who dreamed up the Tunnel Walk during his days as an NU administrator.

Steve Pederson.

Perlman called him the “perfect match” for Nebraska. Barry Collier called Pederson a “home run.” Said softball coach Rhonda Revelle: "If he was my coach and he asked me to jump, I'd say, 'How high?’”

“Go ahead, try to find something wrong with this hire,” a Nebraska sports writer opined. “You'll have more luck finding a parking spot this morning at Gateway.”

Pederson showed up at his opening press conference wearing a red tie, an "N" lapel pin and a 1994 national championship ring.

“We have the greatest fans in the world at Nebraska, but I want to remind you that our historic success is the result of 1.7 million Nebraskans playing as one,” he said.

What could possibly go wrong?!

CYCLE OF INSTABILITY

Steve Pederson fired Frank Solich, the coach who personified loyalty, continuity and physical football. After a disastrous 40-day coaching search, Pederson settled on West Coast Offense disciple Bill Callahan.

A few things went wrong.

Solich won nine games in 2003, but Pederson, a former recruiting coordinator, couldn’t look past the talent deficiencies compared to the '90s. So he canned Osborne’s hand-picked successor, the coach who personified loyalty, continuity and physical football.

After a disastrous 40-day coaching search settled on West Coast Offense disciple Bill Callahan, “Husker Nation” would’ve banished Pederson to Fort Robinson, if only it could. Callahan ripped up Osborne’s blueprints and chose his own way, sustaining hope for a while, then spectacularly flaming out.

In October 2007, three months after extending Pederson’s contract five years, Perlman fired him in a five-minute meeting. “You know, it's really interesting that a person in my position ends up learning everything last,” Perlman said. “I think he lost the respect of people he worked with.”

The next day, 100 yards away from Perlman’s office, Osborne taught his regular Tuesday class in the College of Business Administration. The subject: leadership in organizations. Then he walked across the street and became interim athletic director.

Bill Byrne left Nebraska for Texas A&M in 2002. His successor? The man recommended by Byrne and Tom Osborne. The man who dreamed up the Tunnel Walk during his days as an NU administrator. Steve Pederson.

“I'm not nervous at all,” Osborne said. “I've stood there on fourth-and-1 and had everybody screaming at me ... so this is no problem.”

Why Osborne?

"God, we've got everybody up at the fever pitch,” Perlman said. “I don't think that's healthy.”

Osborne indeed restored calm, but he couldn’t forgive Callahan’s 5-7 record (or the 76 points allowed at Kansas).

Eventually Osborne hired Bo Pelini, Darin Erstad and Tim Miles. He shed the “interim” tag. He led Nebraska into the Big Ten. But even he couldn’t produce championships.

In September 2012, Osborne announced his retirement. Perlman went to work on a successor. Just one problem. He didn’t consult Osborne. Nor did he interview Osborne’s lieutenants, Paul Meyers and Jamie Williams.

Osborne didn’t attend the press conference to announce Nebraska’s new A.D. Where was he? “You’ll have to ask him,” Perlman said. “I think he's disappointed he didn't play a stronger role.”

Osborne’s response? He didn’t even know about the event.

Perlman’s new $1 million athletic director, identified via search firm and validated by Barry Alvarez, was a polished, deliberate, socially awkward former lawyer from Wisconsin.

Shawn Eichorst reminded Nebraskans of a guy who mows his yard every Wednesday at 7 p.m., cleans every square millimeter of his dinner plate and shows up five minutes before every meeting. Nothing wrong with that.

Shawn Eichorst, identified via search firm and validated by Barry Alvarez, was a polished, deliberate, socially awkward former lawyer from Wisconsin.

Eichorst got along fine until — stop me if you’ve heard this before — he controversially fired a 9-3 football coach and replaced him with an off-the-wall West Coast Offense guru who won just five regular-season games the following season.

Maybe in 1992 or even 2002, a Nebraska athletic director could be judged apart from the football coach’s record. But when the school hasn’t won a conference title in a generation, that’s a pipe dream.

Mike Riley failed. Thus, Shawn Eichorst failed. He got fired 10 years after Perlman sacked Pederson, in the middle of another terrible football season, paving the way to a hire that stunned college sports analysts.

Bill Moos.

Bill Moos made solid coaching hires. But behind the scenes, he lacked credibility. Like multiple predecessors, the Husker A.D. could only fend off his critics for so long.

The folksy Washington rancher presented a public voice of confidence. He made solid coaching hires. But behind the scenes, Moos lacked credibility. He may have spoken the language of his fan base, but he didn’t connect well enough with the VIPs — administrators, regents, boosters or coaches.

Like multiple predecessors, Moos could only fend off his critics for so long.

Say what you want about Nebraska Nice, but there’s no shortage of egos. No shortage of folks who think they know best or, even more, think they know who doesn’t.

The politics of Husker athletics gets more exhausting by the decade. Who has the ear of regents and administrators? Who’s really calling the shots? Even when Nebraska wins, there is no peace.

Pederson made it almost five years — 57 months. Tom Osborne held the job for 62. Shawn Eichorst survived 56 months. Now Moos is gone after 44.

When it comes to regime instability, Nebraska isn’t quite a developing country, but it’s hard to believe that continuity used to be a source of pride.

In June 1992, during his power struggle with Graham Spanier — who nearly 30 years later reported to jail to begin a two-month sentence that started in June for his role in Penn State's Jerry Sandusky scandal — one additional Osborne remark stood out. It resembled a locker-room pep talk.

Maybe he intended the words for boosters of substance. Maybe he meant them for himself. But 29 years later — after repeated cycles of tumult, agony and bitterness — the comment still rings true. Now more than ever.

“We had better move on and unite,” Osborne said. "This is a state with only a million and a half people. ... We can't exist with a lot of divisions and factions.”

TLDR: Can't recruit like the 90s.

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Nebraska is having a 'buyer's remorse" moment it seems, wanting to hire former player with XII ties/ wanting to play an old rival for charity...
 



I have a lotta fond memories as a kid watching OU pummel NU [well, let's forget the 1990's] but I'd like to see Arkie & UT hook back up too...

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5 hours ago, 6th Street said:

I don't know that moving to the Big 12 and getting throttled by Texas, OU, OSU, and TCU is going to help Nebraska. Lincoln is a flat wasteland in the middle of nowhere. Even Iowa State has passed them up. 

For inexplicable reasons, NU didn't prioritize TX recruiting for the duration of their time in the Big 12... until Pelini started trying a couple of years before they left.  At a bare minimum, a competent coach in Lincoln could recruit Texas as well as Gary Pinkel did when he was at Mizzou.  Mizzou was horrible when Pinkel arrived.  He built them into a Top 20ish program that won multiple division titles.  NU would kill to be at that level right now . In the Big Ten, NU is stuck trying to recruit nationally without stable "local" pipelines to build on as a talent base.

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On 6/27/2021 at 11:51 AM, Blotto said:

Probably, but fuck 'em and the entirety of that bitchmade fan base. I'd rather bring back arky, tbh. Sure piggy's fan base is full of uneducated, toothless,  hicks, but they don't pretend to be something they aren't. We have a rivalry with Arky....whatever we had with corn can be better described as a prison gangbang. 

Nebraska is THE wandering eyes tale in CR.  Even though it's apt, no one under 60 understands the same analogy with Arkansas.

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Moos had a problem showing up to meetings and functions and there were concerns of him arriving safely to meetings and functions.  I think everybody can read between the lines here.

The smart money is on Ed Stewart or Hank Bounds replacing him.  Bounds has done a great job lining up cash for the $155 million facilities drive.

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16 hours ago, Cornfusion said:

Moos had a problem showing up to meetings and functions and there were concerns of him arriving safely to meetings and functions.  I think everybody can read between the lines here.

The smart money is on Ed Stewart or Hank Bounds replacing him.  Bounds has done a great job lining up cash for the $155 million facilities drive.

So you're saying someone has photographs of Bill Moos with Missouri coeds?

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The local sports talk radio here had a guest from Las Vegas talking about the B1G West power rankings, he had Wisconsin finishing first then Minnesota second and Nebraska third in the division. Iowa won't be able to score points this season and the rest of the division is really low on talent. Biels should have some fun for off the field stuff at Illinois. Anyway, Nebraska at five conference wins is the smart guys projection.

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21 minutes ago, trza-hawk said:

The local sports talk radio here had a guest from Las Vegas talking about the B1G West power rankings, he had Wisconsin finishing first then Minnesota second and Nebraska third in the division. Iowa won't be able to score points this season and the rest of the division is really low on talent. Biels should have some fun for off the field stuff at Illinois. Anyway, Nebraska at five conference wins is the smart guys projection.

bringing back Greg Davis? Knowing nothing about Iowa's team this year, I'd still wager they finish above corn.

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8 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

So you're saying someone has photographs of Bill Moos with Missouri coeds?

I realize this isn’t the thread for Hawkeye stuff, but check out my 30 yard line seats. Jealous much?

2-C9789-DB-039-A-48-A2-857-D-AB2-E90-BAB

 

 


 

 

 

Despite being 23 years old, my daughter (no gotdam pics) is in the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital recovering from a difficult orthopedic surgery (distal lateral femoral osteotomy along with a hip labral repair). Her hip surgeon referred her to orthopedists at both UI and Mayo, but UI offered up a room with stadium views.

Edited by ImissWallyPryor
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50 minutes ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

I realize this isn’t the thread for Hawkeye stuff, but check out my 30 yard line seats. Jealous much?

2-C9789-DB-039-A-48-A2-857-D-AB2-E90-BAB

 

 


 

 

 

Despite being 23 years old, my daughter (no gotdam pics) is in the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital recovering from a difficult orthopedic surgery (distal lateral femoral osteotomy along with a hip labral repair). Her hip surgeon referred her to orthopedists at both UI and Mayo, but UI offered up a room with stadium views.

Still better seats than being in that weak ass stadium. Got some aggy-like seats in that corner. 

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15 hours ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Despite being 23 years old, my daughter (no gotdam pics) is in the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital recovering from a difficult orthopedic surgery (distal lateral femoral osteotomy along with a hip labral repair). Her hip surgeon referred her to orthopedists at both UI and Mayo, but UI offered up a room with stadium views.

Best wishes for your daughter.

Regardless of anything else, the tradition of everyone in Kinnick Stadium, from all the fans to all the coaches and all the players and all the officials, waving to the young patients in the children’s hospital at the end of the first quarter is the best new tradition in college sports. Gets me every time. 

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