Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska Cornhuskers
University University of Nebraska
Conference Big Ten
NCAA Division I/FBS
Athletic director Shawn Eichorst[1]
Location Lincoln, Nebraska
Varsity teams 22
Football stadium Memorial Stadium
Basketball arena Pinnacle Bank Arena
Ice hockey arena John Breslow Ice Center
Baseball stadium Haymarket Park
Softball stadium Bowlin Stadium
Soccer stadium Barbara Hibner Stadium
Lacrosse stadium Cook Pavilion
Vine Outdoor Complex
Other arenas Bob Devaney Sports Center
Nebraska Coliseum
Ed Weir Stadium
Mascot Herbie Husker
Lil' Red
Nickname Official: Cornhuskers
Unofficial: Big Red, Blackshirts
Fight song Hail Varsity
Colors Scarlet and Cream[2]
         
Website www.huskers.com
Big Ten logo in Nebraska's colors

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) is the name given to the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Division I, fielding 22 varsity teams in 15 sports.

Early nicknames for the university's athletic teams included the "Hawkeyes" (which is now associated with the University of Iowa), the "Antelopes" (which the University of Nebraska at Kearney later adopted), the "Old Gold Knights", the "Bugeaters" and the "Mankilling Mastodons". The name Cornhuskers first appeared in the school newspaper as "We Have Met The Cornhuskers And They Are Ours" referring to a 20–18 upset victory over Iowa in 1893. The term "Cornhuskers" was referring to Iowa in that instance.[3][4][5] The name would be used again, this time to refer to Nebraska by Cy Sherman in The Nebraska State Journal during the 1899 season and would replace all other names by 1900.[6][7][8]

After its first losing season in a decade, it must have seemed only fitting that Nebraska move in a new direction, and Lincoln sportswriter Charles S. (Cy) Sherman, who was to gain national renown as the sports editor of the Lincoln Star and help originate The Associated Press Poll, provided the nickname that has gained fame for a century. Sherman tired of referring to the Nebraska teams with such an unglamorous term as Bugeaters. Iowa had, from time to time, been called the Cornhuskers, and the name appealed to Sherman. (NU Athletic Communications) [9][10]

The Cornhuskers have two official mascots, Herbie Husker and Lil' Red.

The Cornhuskers participate in 21 sports sponsored by the Big Ten Conference. In addition the Huskers field varsity teams in two sports not sponsored by the Big Ten, namely rifle and bowling. The rifle team is a member of the single-sport Great America Rifle Conference, while the bowling team competes as an independent.

Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. For over 100 years, the Cornhuskers participated in the Big Eight Conference (originally known as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association), and later in the Big 12 Conference, which was formed when the old Big Eight absorbed four members of the defunct Southwest Conference.

Athletic facilities

Corn Cob at a football game in 1958.

Teams

Nebraska sponsors teams in ten men's and fourteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports:[11]

Fall varsity sports

Cross country

The Nebraska Cornhuskers field both a male and female cross country team coached by David Harris. They currently run on a course through Pioneer's Park in Lincoln. The men's team started in 1938 and the women's team started in 1975 as a result of Title IX. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have never won a Big 12 conference championship. The only men's conference championship was in 1940 Big Six meet. The women have won the conference championship 5 times.
Men
Big Six
1940
Women
Big Eight
1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993

Football

The Cornhuskers play a sold-out game in Memorial Stadium

The Husker football team began competitive play in 1890, claimed 46 conference championships and part or all of five national championships:[13] 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997. The latter three mark one of only three times that a team has won three NCAA Division I-A/FBS national football championships in four seasons. The other two were Notre Dame in 1946, 1947 and 1949, and Alabama in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Over the past 25 years, the Huskers' three Division I national championships are tied with Florida and Florida State for the third-most of any Division I FBS university, behind only Miami (Florida) and Alabama, which have respectively won five and four titles.

The winningest head coach in Cornhusker history is Tom Osborne, who led the team for 25 seasons and also had the highest winning percentage of any Nebraska coach during his tenure from 1973 to 1997; his final record at Nebraska was 255–49–3. The Cornhuskers won three national titles under Osborne, including one in his final season.

Nebraska's home games always open with the Tunnel Walk, which signifies the entry of the team onto the field. When the Cornhuskers play at home in Memorial Stadium, the stadium holds more people than Bellevue (the third-largest city in Nebraska). The current attendance record was set on Saturday, September 20, 2014, when 91,585 people watched the Cornhuskers play Miami University. They currently hold the NCAA record for the most consecutive sold out home games; the sellout streak dates back to November 3, 1962.

On December 2, 2007, athletic director Tom Osborne named Bo Pelini head football coach at Nebraska. Pelini left his previous position as defensive coordinator at LSU after the 2008 National Championship win against Ohio State. Pelini was defensive coordinator at Nebraska in 2003 and was interim head coach for the 2003 Alamo Bowl game, replacing former head coach Frank Solich.

Pelini won his first three bowl games (including the 2003 Alamo Bowl) and lost his fourth and fifth. After his first four years as head coach, Pelini had compiled a record of 39–16 as head coach at Nebraska. This record includes bowl victories in the Gator Bowl on January 1, 2009, against the Clemson Tigers and the 2009 Holiday Bowl against the Arizona Wildcats. The 2009 Holiday Bowl was notable in that Nebraska gave the bowl game its first shutout in its 32-year history. This also earned Nebraska its first shutout in 46 bowl appearances. On December 31, 2010, Nebraska played in the Holiday Bowl for a second consecutive year, this time against the Washington Huskies. Nebraska lost the game 19–7, even though the Huskers had played Washington earlier in the non-conference season and won 56–21. On January 2, 2012 Nebraska lost to South Carolina 13–30 in the 2012 Capital One Bowl played in Orlando, Florida.

The previous Husker coach was Bill Callahan, who was hired before the 2004 football season and was later fired by interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne on November 24, 2007. Callahan represented a break from tradition in many ways. First, Callahan was the first head coach since 1962 not to be hand-picked by his predecessor. Second, Bill Callahan had implemented the West Coast Offense at Nebraska. The Huskers had previously been known for the tough running game; specifically, running the option with a strong backfield, while their new style relies heavily on a balance between the run and the pass. The previous three head coaches were Frank Solich, Tom Osborne, and Bob Devaney. On November 30, 2014 Bo Pelini, was fired as the Huskers head coach. Assistant Barney Cotton was hired as the interim head coach for the Holiday Bowl vs. USC. On December 4, 2014 Mike Riley was hired at the new head coach. Coach Reilly had previously coached at Oregon State and the San Diego Chargers. The first year under Coach Reilly was a major disaster, the team went 5-7 and only made a bowl game due to the teams academic performance. In 2016, the team started 7-0 and was ranked in the AP top ten. Consecutive losses to the Wisconsin Badgers and the Ohio State Buckeyes (62-3) knocked Nebraska down in the rankings and finished the season with a loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes (40-10). Although viewed as a disappointing season, Mike Riley was retained as head coach for the next season.

Nebraska achieved 800 total wins on October 14, 2006 with a 21–3 victory over Kansas State. As of April 2011, there are eight teams with 800 wins: Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma, and Alabama.

Women's soccer

Nebraska became the first team in the Big Eight to create women's soccer as a varsity sport in the 1995 season. John Walker was hired to coach the soccer team in April 1994 and was determined to get the Huskers into an NCAA tournament by 2008. During his second season, he led the Huskers to the NCAA tournament followed by an addition nine consecutive trips to the tournament, with his first miss in the 2006 season. The team has reached the Sweet sixteen eight times and to the Elite Eight on two occasions. John Walker has earned NSCAA/Umbro National Coach-of-the-Year, NSCAA/Umbro Central Region Coach-of-the-Year and Big 12 Conference Coach-of-the-Year over his tenure at Lincoln. The Husker program has created many professional athletes that went on to the WUSA. The Huskers record is 256-108-23 through the 2011 season.

Stadium Nebraska Soccer Field
NCAA Tournament Appearances 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013
Big 12 Conference Championships 1996, 1999, 2000
Big 12 Tournament Championships 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
Big Ten Conference Championships 2013
Big Ten Tournament Championships 2013
Key personnel Head Coach: John Walker; Assistant Coaches: Marty Everding, Peter Underwood

Volleyball

The Nebraska volleyball team scrimmaged alumni Nebraska volleyball players including Nancy Metcalf and Jordan Larson before the 2013 season.

Nebraska is home to one of the nation's most storied collegiate women's volleyball programs. The Nebraska women's volleyball team has won four NCAA Women's Volleyball National Championships, in 1995, 2000, 2006 and 2015, and has had three NCAA National Runner-up finishes in 1986, 1989, and 2005 as well as 5 other NCAA National Semifinal (Final Four) appearances in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2008, bringing the program total to 12 NCAA Final Four appearances. The Nebraska program is second only to Stanford in the number of NCAA National Semifinal (Final Four) appearances (tied with Penn State and UCLA), in all-time NCAA Tournament wins, and trails only Stanford and Penn State in all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage. Nebraska ranks in a tie for third in the number of NCAA National Championships won. Nebraska has made an NCAA Tournament appearance in every year of the tournament's existence except for the tournament's first year in 1981. Nebraska has had more combined AVCA 1st and 2nd team All-Americans than any other program, tops the nation in the number of AVCA 1st team All-Americans, and has produced 4 AVCA National Player of the Year award winners. Nebraska also is one of only three programs east of the west coast to have won a NCAA Women's Volleyball National Championship.[14]

Nebraska volleyball is a very popular spectator sport in the state. In 2008, AVCA executive director Kathy DeBoer described Nebraska as "the epicenter of volleyball fandom". The four largest ever NCAA volleyball crowds were in the state of Nebraska, including the largest ever crowd of 17,209 for the 2006 National Championship game between Nebraska and Stanford. In 2005, an NCAA volleyball-record 13,252 tickets were pre-sold for the NCAA regionals. The vast majority of these sales are attributed to Nebraska volleyball fans, as these games were played at the Qwest Center in Omaha.[15] The Huskers also have the ongoing NCAA record for consecutive home sellouts in a women's sport at the Nebraska Coliseum in Lincoln.[16]

The 4,030-seat Nebraska Coliseum has provided the Nebraska volleyball program with an unmatched home-court advantage. Nebraska has had 15 undefeated seasons at home compiling an all-time record of 454-30 (.938) under its roof. Only three times in 33 years of regular-season Big Eight/Big 12/Big Ten play has a conference opponent ever won in Lincoln.

Nebraska playing Penn St in 2013

At the Coliseum, the Huskers are the current holders of the NCAA record for the most consecutive sellouts in a women's sport.

The Nebraska Coliseum is one of the few collegiate arenas that is designed specifically for volleyball. It is noted for its classical architecture, intimate setting with fans close to the floor, perpetually sold-out crowds, and deafening acoustics. The Coliseum has statistically proven to be one of the most difficult venues for visiting teams to win in all of sports, has anecdotally been described as 'the arena that the volleyball gods would build', and has drawn comparisons to Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium due to its design, acoustics, and intimate atmosphere. It has also been the subject of a CBS Sports documentary.[17]

Team records

The Nebraska Cornhuskers Women's Volleyball team holds or shares 5 NCAA team records:[18]

Winter varsity sports

Men's basketball

While the University of Nebraska has experienced varying amounts of success for their intercollegiate athletic programs, men's basketball has been an exception for most of its existence, experiencing almost the entirety of its success in the decades before the establishment of the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska has not won a conference title since sharing the Big Seven Conference with Kansas and Kansas State in 1950, and has not won an outright conference title since going a perfect 12–0 through the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 1916. Nebraska's most sustained success came during the first years of the sport's existence. The retroactive Premo-Porretta Power Poll ranked the Cornhuskers no. 8 nationally in 1897, no. 15 in 1898, no. 3 in 1899, no. 2 in 1900, and no. 19 in 1903, no. 18 in 1904, no. 19 in 1905, and no. 16 in 1906.[19]

Nebraska is one of the few major BCS conference programs never to win a single game in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for Nebraska did not come until 1986, after 90 years. Much of the team's success came under the tenure of Danny Nee, head coach from 1987 to 2000. Nee is the team's all-time winningest head coach with a record of 254–190. Nee led the Cornhuskers to five of their six NCAA Tournament appearances, six bids to the National Invitation Tournament, including the 1996 NIT Championship.

The most recent head coach was Doc Sadler, until his firing in March, 2012.[20] When he was hired, he replaced Barry Collier, who led Nebraska from 2000 to August 2006. Collier left to become athletic director at Butler University.[21]

Tim Miles was hired on March 24, 2012 as the next head men's basketball coach at Nebraska. Miles came to Nebraska after a five-year stint at Colorado State University.

Women's basketball

Women's basketball started as a club sport in 1970 and five years later it became a varsity sport when scholarships were offered. George Nicodemus was the first head coach and had a 22-9 record in his first season, taking the Huskers to the AIAW where they lost in the second round of the tournament. Five different head coaches would be hired after Nicodemus left the program in 1971 until 1986 when Angela Beck took a stable head coach position. Beck led the Huskers to their first NCAA bid after winning the Big 8 championship in 1988. She led the Huskers back to the NCAA in 93 and 96. She left the program in 1996 to pursue other opportunities and was replaced by Paul Sanderford. Sanderford led the Huskers to a NCAA sub-regional in 1998 and 1999 and received a third consecutive NCAA bid in 2000. Connie Yori became the head coach in 2002 and has led the Huskers to WNIT in 2004, 2005, 2006, and NCAA in 2007, 2008, and 2010. On April 11, 2016, Amy Williams was named the next head coach for the Nebraska women's basketball program after the resignation of Connie Yori. Williams comes to Nebraska after a four-year stint at South Dakota.

AIAW tournament
1976, 1979, 1980, 1981

Big 8 Championship
1988

Big 12 Championship
2010

WNIT tournament bids
2004, 2005, 2006, 2009

NCAA tournament bids
1988, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013

Bowling

Bowling has been an official varsity sport at Lincoln since the 1996–1997 season. Before bowling became a varsity sport, it was a club sport coached by Bill Straub who led the club team to two national IBC titles in 1991 and 1995. Bill Straub was hired as the full-time bowling coach and has led the team to three more IBC titles in 1997, 1999 and 2001. In 2003, the NCAA created a tournament for Women's bowling and the Nebraska Women's Bowling team has been one of the top college bowling teams since the start of NCAA competition, which the Huskers won the first two national titles in a row, came in third place during the third NCAA tournament and have won three of the first six NCAA tournaments. The Huskers added a fourth NCAA championship in 2013, and a fifth in 2015. The Huskers have been ranked in the top 5 teams since 1990 and have never been ranked below 17th place. The Huskers can be seen bowling at the East Campus Bowling Lanes.

Men's gymnastics

The Nebraska Men's Gymnastics team is one of the most successful teams in the nation with 8 national team titles and 41 NCAA event titles. Ten huskers have gone on to represent the United States in the Olympics. The Huskers compete in the Big Ten Conference, along with fellow Big Ten conference schools Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State.
NCAA Championship Appearances
1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1994, 2009


NCAA National Championships
1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1990 1994

Women's gymnastics

The Nebraska Women's Gymnastics team was first established in 1975. After the first season, the school hired head coach Karen Balke to lead a team of all freshman and sophomores for one year. Judy Schalk took over as head coach in 1977 until 1983. She led the Huskers to five conference titles and to one AIAW bid. In 1983, Rick Walton was hired to serve as head coach and led the Huskers to their first NCAA women's gym event title when Michele Bryant came in first place on the vault. He captured four straight Big 8 championship titles and led the huskers to the NCAAs four times in a row. After the 1993 season, Rick Walton left the program and Dan Kendig was brought in. In his first year, he became the Big 12 coach of the year after leading the Huskers to a Big 8 championship. In 1997 the Huskers reached the Super Six Finals for the first time by beating #1 ranked Utah. Kendig was named national coach of the year in 1999 after earning 6 conference championships in a row. Kendig's team has won four event titles when Heather Brink won two NCAA event titles in all around and vault in 2000 and Richelle Simpson won the all around title and the floor exercise title in 2003. The huskers have never had a losing season.

Rifle

Rifle is classified as a co-ed sport by the NCAA and is currently classified as a women's sport at the University of Nebraska. Rifle got its start as an official sport of the university during the 1998–1999 season under coach Karen Anthony. The team practices and has meets at the 10-point indoor firing range located in the Military and Naval Sciences Building (ROTC). The current coach is coach Stacy Underwood who started in the 2012–2013 season. The team has had several invitations to the NCAA tournament and has won two individual national titles.

Men's indoor track and field

The indoor Nebraska track and field team started in 1922 under coach Henry Schulte, who led the Huskers to nine conference titles before his retirement. His assistant, Ed Weir, replaced Schulte and won five addition indoor conference titles before moving on to be the assistant athletic director. Jerry Lee led the team for a single season in 1955 before Frank Sevigne took over the program. Under Sevigne, the Huskers won 11 individual national championships with 42 all-American athletes and 103 individual conference champions in combined indoor and outdoor track and field. After his retirement in 1983, current coach, Gary Pepin, took over the program and coaches both the men's and women's teams.

Stadium Bob Devaney Sports Center
Missouri Valley Conference championships 1925, 1926
Big 6 Conference championships 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942
Big 7 Conference championships 1949, 1951
Big 8 Conference championships 1963, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996
Big 12 Conference championships 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010
Head coaches J. E. Pearson (1898), Clinton Barr (1899), T. J. Hewitt (1900), W. Engel (1901), S. D. Clinton (1902), R. G. Clapp (1903–1909), Osmond F. Field (1910–1911), Guy Reed (1912–1916), E. J. Stewart (1917–1918), Henry Schulte (1919–1938), Ed Weir (1939–1954), Jerry Lee (1955), Frank Sevigne (1956–1983), Gary Pepin (1984–present)

Women's indoor track and field

The Nebraska Cornhuskers Women's track and field team was created in the 1975–76 academic year and started competing in the 1976 season in the Big 8 conference. The starting coach, Roger Capan, would only be at Nebraska for one season before leaving the program; he was replaced by Carol Frost, who stayed at Nebraska through the 1980 season. The current coach, Gary Pepin, took over the program in 1981 and has led the women huskers to three national titles. The NCAA started awarding the national title for Women's Track and Field in 1983, prior to that the award was given by the AIAW.

Stadium Bob Devaney Sports Center
AIAW National Championships 1982
NCAA National Championships 1983, 1984
Big 8 Conference Championships 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
Big 12 Conference Championships 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005
Big 10 Conference Championships 2011
Head Coaches Roger Capan (1976), Carol Frost (1976–1980), Gary Pepin (1981–present)

Wrestling

With over 100 years of history, Nebraska wrestling is one of the most storied programs in the collegiate wrestling ranks. The first official Nebraska wrestling team started in 1910 with Dr. R.G. Clapp as coach. Current Head Coach Mark Manning has taken the Huskers to new heights in his tenure and has established himself as one of the top wrestling coaches in the nation.[22] Former standouts from the Nebraska Wrestling Team include 2004 Greco-Roman Olympic Gold Medalist at 120 kg Rulon Gardner, and NCAA Champion in 2009 and 2011 Jordan Burroughs who won the 2011 Freestyle World Championships at 74 kg in Istanbul, Turkey. Burroughs subsequently won the Gold Medal at 74 kg at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Conference Championship Titles:

Big 8 Conference
1993, 1995

Big 12 Conference
2009 Big 10

Spring varsity sports

Baseball

Nebraska baseball has seen a resurgence since the turn of the century. After many years of being a perennial doormat, the 2000 Huskers became the first team in school history to advance to the Super Regionals in the NCAA tournament. In 2001 and 2002, the Huskers made their first and second appearances in the College World Series. Much of the success of these teams and the teams that have followed is due to the efforts of Dave Van Horn, who compiled a record of 214-92 while leading Huskers from 1998–2002. After the 2002 season, Van Horn left to accept a position at his alma mater, Arkansas; assistant coach Mike Anderson became head coach.

Hawks Field

The Huskers moved venues in 2002 from Buck Beltzer to Hawks Field at Haymarket Park, widely considered one of the best collegiate baseball facilities in the country. They have been in the top 30 for average attendance every year since the move to the field. Their home record at Hawks field is 249-88-1.

The 2005 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team had their most successful season ever, going 57-15 and advancing to the College World Series for the third time in five years while Alex Gordon won the Dick Howser Trophy.

The 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team was the last team to make the NCAA tournament hosting a regional but like 2003 and 2006 they couldn't advance to a super regional ending their season.

From 2009 to 2011 came a disappointing streak of seasons for the Big Red. 2009 was the worst season since 1997 going 25–28–1 while not making the Big 12 tournament for the first time and didn't make a regional for the first time in 5 years. Hoping to come back from a down season, the 2010 and 2011 Huskers improved but were still not able to make the Big 12 tournament or an NCAA regional going 27–27 and 30–24 respectively to end the Huskers affiliation with the Big 12 Conference.

Before moving to the Big 10 Conference, Mike Anderson and the entire coaching staff were terminated on May 22, 2011 after going 82–79–1 and missing the Big 12 tournament the last three seasons[23] and the University of Nebraska hired former Husker and Major League All-Star Darin Erstad on June 2, 2011 to replace Mike Anderson as head coach of the team after 1 season as a volunteer assistant coach.[24] A few days later, Ted Silva was hired as pitching coach[25] as well as former huskers Will Bolt as associate head coach[26] and Jeff Christy as volunteer assistant coach.[27]

NCAA Tournament Appearances
1948, 1950, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

College World Series Appearances
2001, 2002, 2005

Conference Tournament Champions
1999, 2000, 2001, 2005

Conference Champions
Big 7: 1948, 1950
Big 12: 2001, 2003, 2005
Big 10: 2017

Softball

Women's college softball had started at Nebraska by 1970,[28]:11 before it was an official NCAA sport.
Big 8 Conference Championship
1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988
Big 12 Conference Championship
1998, 2000, 2001, 2004
Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship
1998, 2000, 2004
Big Ten Conference Championship
2014
ASA Women's College World Series
1970, 1971[28]
NCAA tournament
1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014
NCAA Women's College World Series
1982, 1984, 1985*, 1987, 1988, 1998, 2002, 2013
NCAA Women's College World Series Runner-up
1985*

*Vacated due to NCAA infractions

Men's outdoor track and field


Missouri Valley Championship
1921–1924, 1926
Big 6 Championship
1929, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1939–1942
Big 7 Championship
1950
Big 8 Championship
1966, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996
Big 12 Championship
1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010
Big 10 Championship
2013

Women's Beach Volleyball

Nebraska announced on January 9, 2013 that the school will add women's beach volleyball as the school's 24th intercollegiate sport. The Huskers were to begin play in the sport in the spring of 2013.

Club sports

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Championships

NCAA team championships

Nebraska has won 19 NCAA national championships:[34]

Other national team championships

Below are 12 national team titles that were not bestowed by the NCAA:[35]

National Individual Championships

Mascots

Herbie Husker

Herbie Husker – The oldest current mascot appearing first in 1974. Herbie has gone through a few changes, most recently in 2003 to update the overall appearance of the state's agricultural workers and general public. Herbie was named National Mascot of the year for the 2005 football season.

Lil' Red – Created for the 1993 season to appeal younger Husker fans and has won two major awards. He became the national championship at the NCA National Mascot Competition in 1999 and was introduced into the 2007 Mascot Hall of Fame.[36]

There have been previous Husker mascots. Corn Cob appeared in the 1940s-1950s with a corn cob head and green body. Then came Husker Man in the 1960s as a man in overalls and a straw hat. There was Mr. Cornhead in the 60's as a corn cob and Harry Husker was the mascot from 1965–1973.[37][38]

Fans

Fan at a game in 1973

In addition to the performance both on and off the field, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are also known for having proclaimed their fans "The greatest fans in college football".[13][39] Above the main entrance to Memorial Stadium is the inscription "Through these gates pass the greatest fans in college football."[40] In 2001, President George W. Bush observed, "I can't go without saying how impressed I am by the Nebraska fan base. Whether it be for women's volleyball or football, there's nothing like the Big Red."[41]

Football fans are known as The Sea of Red due to the overwhelming amount of red they wear. They have sold out every home game since November 3, 1962, when they lost 16-7 to Dan Devine's Missouri Tigers.[42] The large crowds not only cheer for their team but will also applaud the visiting team as they leave the field at the end of the game.[43] Nebraska fans are known for following their team on the road, such as in 2002 when 60,000 fans traveled to Pasadena to watch the Huskers play the Miami Hurricanes in the Rose Bowl and in 2000 when Cornhusker fans took over Notre Dame Stadium.[44][45]

Academic success

The Nebraska Cornhuskers lead the nation in the number of academic All-Americans. Nebraska also leads the nation in Academic All-Americans in football. As of February 26, 2015 through the 2014–15 academic year, there were a total of 315 academic All-Americans in all sports, all teams[46][47]

Top ten programs for academic All-Americans 2014–15
1 Nebraska 315
2 Notre Dame 238
3 MIT 220
4 Penn State 186
5 Stanford 182
6 Augustana 153
7 Emory 152
8 Nebraska Wesleyan 148
9 Florida 129
10 Texas 128

References

  1. ↑ "Osborne named interim athletic director". Lincoln Journal Star. October 16, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2007.
  2. ↑ "University of Nebraska Athletics Brand Guide" (PDF). Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ Fricke, Mark (2005). Nebraska Cornhusker Football. Arcadia Publishing. p. 17.
  4. ↑ McHugh, Jolene (November 19, 2011). "From the archives: The Cornhuskers". omaha.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Fricke, Mark. "Nebraska Football In The 1890s" (PDF). library.la84.org. p. 11. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Origin of the Cornhusker Nickname – Huskers.com – Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site". Huskers.com. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080511164744/http://www.huskernews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/1999/01/01/380d0d7a3
  8. ↑ Christopherson, Brian (June 20, 2009). "Deep Red: The story behind the name ‘Cornhuskers’". journalstar.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  9. ↑ huskers.com
  10. ↑ Nebraska Huskers 2016
  11. ↑ "Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site". Huskers.com. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  12. ↑ "NCAA DII, DIII membership approves Sand Volleyball as 90th championship". NCAA. January 17, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Past Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I FBS) National Champions (formerly called Division I-A)". ncaa.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2007. Archived from the original on February 24, 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  14. ↑ "Nebraska volleyball history". NU Athletics. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Omaha breaks NCAA ticket sales mark". NU Athletics. December 7, 2005. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Huskers Sweep Bears, 3-0". NU Athletics.
  17. ↑ "Nebraska Coliseum". NU athletics.
  18. ↑ "Division I Women's Volleyball Records" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  19. ↑ ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York: ESPN Books. pp. 529–30. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  20. ↑ Nebraska Cornhuskers fire Doc Sadler as coach – ESPN
  21. ↑ Sadler signs six-year contract with Cornhuskers – Men's College Basketball – ESPN
  22. ↑ "The Leader". Nebraska-Omaha University. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  23. ↑ "Osborne Announces Change in Baseball Program". Huskers.com. May 22, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Erstad Named Nebraska Head Baseball Coach". Huskers.com. June 2, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Silva Named Pitching Coach at Nebraska". Huskers.com. June 16, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Bolt Returns to Nebraska as Associate Head Coach". Huskers.com. June 8, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Christy Joins Husker Baseball Staff". Huskers.com. July 5, 2011.
  28. 1 2 Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.
  29. ↑ Cornfed
  30. ↑ Cuddle Raptors
  31. ↑ UNLRFC
  32. ↑ August 29, 2011, "Wisconsin Wins Big Ten 7s". Rugby Mag
  33. ↑ "West Fields Two Teams in Men's NCASC", Rugby Mag, June 8, 2011,
  34. ↑ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/champs_records_book/Overall.pdf
  35. ↑ Archived July 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  36. ↑ "Spirit Squad". Huskers.com.
  37. ↑ "Nebraska Cornhusker Mascots and Logos". HuskerJ.com.
  38. ↑ "Pick of the Week". Retro Brand. 2009-09-16.
  39. ↑ Greatest Fans in College Football – Huskers.com—Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site
  40. ↑ ESPN.com – Page2 – Red alert takes over entire state
  41. ↑ President Bush Welcomes University of Nebraska Volleyball Champions to the White House
  42. ↑ "Road Trip". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  43. ↑ College Football Stadiums
  44. ↑ Cotton Bowl News | Sports News | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas
  45. ↑ "Three and out". CNN. November 30, 2004. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  46. ↑ "CoSIDA Academic All-Americans". Nebraska Huskers.
  47. ↑ "Nebraska's Major Academic Awards". Nebraska Huskers. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
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