History
Husker football began play in 1890, with a 10-0 victory over the Omaha YMCA on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. During the early years of the program, the team had a number of nicknames: "Bugeaters", "Tree Planters", "Nebraskans", "The Rattlesnake Boys", "Antelopes" and "Old Gold Knights"; "Cornhuskers" became the sole nickname used around 1900. Nebraska has claimed 46 conference championships and part or all of five national championships: 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997. This marked the first time since Notre Dame in 1946-49 when a team won three national championships in four seasons. Nebraska posted a 60-3-0 record between the 1993-97 seasons. No team has come close to breaking this record.[citation needed] Famous former Huskers include Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, and Eric Crouch. Rodgers was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and for the new millennium he was voted the team's "Player of the Century"; his Cornhusker jersey (No. 20) was retired. Rozier was likewise inducted into the hall in 2006. Other Husker players and coaches who are members of the College Football Hall of Fame include: Forrest Behm, Bob Brown, Guy Chamberlin, Sam Francis, Rich Glover, Ken Hunter, Wayne Meylan, Bobby Reynolds, Dave Rimington, George Sauer, Clarence Swanson, Ed Weir, Dave Noble, and coaches Dana X. Bible, Bob Devaney, Biff Jones, Tom Osborne, Eddie "Robbie" Robinson, and Fielding Yost.The most notable rivals of the Cornhuskers are the Oklahoma Sooners and the Colorado Buffaloes. Nebraska and Oklahoma regularly battled for the Big Eight Conference title until 1995 when the conference became the Big 12. Out of the Big Eight's 89 year history, Nebraska or Oklahoma won or shared the conference championship 71 times. The Cornhuskers and Sooners also played several games during the 1970s and 1980s that decided the national championship.
The Husker defense is known by the nickname of the "Blackshirts." Depictions of the Blackshirts often include a skull and crossbones. This nickname originated in the early 1960s and continued as a reference to the black practice jerseys worn by first-string defensive players during practice. This tradition developed when Bob Devaney had Mike Corgan, one of his assistant coaches, find contrastive jerseys to offset the red jerseys worn by the offense in practice. Further credit is given to George Kelly, Devaney's defensive line coach until 1968, who frequently referred to the top defensive unit by the name; eventually the rest of the coaching staff caught on, while the first mention of the Blackshirts in print was not until 1969. Since the 1994 season, Nebraska's home games have always opened with the Tunnel Walk. Before the team enters, the HuskerVision screens light up with a burst of computer animation, and "Sirius" (an instrumental by The Alan Parsons Project) blares from the speakers. Accompanied by cheers from the crowd, the Huskers take the field. When the Cornhuskers play at home in Memorial Stadium, the stadium holds more people than the third-largest city in Nebraska. They currently hold the record for the most consecutive sold out home games, which celebrated its 285th occasion when they competed against the Ball State Cardinals on September 22, 2007. The sellout streak dates back to November 3, 1962 during Bob Devaney's first season at Nebraska. The Huskers lost the first game in the current streak, a Homecoming game, to Missouri 16-7; 36,501 fans were in attendance.
Coaching
The coach who brought about the most wins in Cornhusker history is Tom Osborne, who led the team for 25 seasons, from 1973 to 1997; his final record at Nebraska was 255 wins, 49 losses and 3 ties. During his tenure, the team won three national titles, including one in his final season. Osborne-led teams won at least 9 games every season and 5 times managed to win 12 or more. By the time he was finished the Nebraska coach had compiled a winning percentage of 83.6%, a higher rate than those held by Bobby Bowden, Paul "Bear" Bryant, and Joe Paterno. After retiring from the Cornhuskers, Osborne was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's Third Congressional District in 2000. Osborne's handpicked successor was Frank Solich, a Nebraska assistant coach and former player. Solich had coached freshmen from 1979-1983 and running backs from 1983-1997. This was following in a tradition because Osborne had been a long-time Cornhusker assistant before Devaney chose him as his successor. Like Osborne, Solich also had big shoes to fill. In his first season, the team got off to a 5-0 start before falling to Texas A&M 21-28. The team went on to a 9-4 record ending up with the most losses since the 1968 season. Over the next three seasons Solich produced better results: 12-1 in 1999 and 10-2 in 2000. The 2001 season looked to be a special one with Heisman candidate Eric Crouch at quarterback.
Winning Tradition
For more than a century, the legacy of Nebraska Football has been growing. From its humble beginning in 1890 – when two games made an entire schedule – to 2007, where an established, nationally prominent program enjoys a rich history of success, Nebraska’s student-athletes have entertained and excelled on all levels. Five national championships and more than 40 conference titles highlight the accomplishments of one of college football’s most storied programs. There have been Heisman winners and Outland Trophy recipients, a nation-leading number of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, a Big 12-leading graduation rate and many professional football stars. But underlying all of the countless accolades is an organization that does not rely on wins and losses as the final indicator of excellence. Nebraska Football is much more than talented athletes and coaches taking the field to play a game – it is a family. The fans, support staff and student-athletes are all Dedicated to Excellence through Tradition, Teamwork and integrity. It is this commitment on and off the field that makes Nebraska unique and assures that the rich tradition of the Huskers will keep growing for years to come.
Cornhusker Nickname
Before 1900, Nebraska football teams were known by such names as the Old Gold Knights, Antelopes, Rattlesnake Boys and the Bugeaters. In its first two seasons (1890-91), Nebraska competed as the Old Gold Knights, but beginning in 1892, Nebraska adopted Scarlet and Cream as its colors and accepted the Bugeaters as its most popular nickname until the turn of the century. Named after the insect-devouring bull bats that hovered over the plains, the Bugeaters also found their prey in the Midwest, enjoying winning campaigns in every year of the 1890s until a disappointing season in 1899. 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.
History of Memorial Stadium
Nebraska’s continuing NCAA record of consecutive home sellouts reached 282 with seven home sellouts in 2006. The Huskers unveiled the newest additions to Memorial Stadium before the 2006 season. More than 6,500 seats were added to the stadium's North end, along with a massive HuskerVision screen and Skyline Suites. The additions sit atop Nebraska's new Osborne Athletic Complex, which houses the Huskers' technologically advanced athletic medicine facility, massive weight room, and sparkling new football locker room, football offices and administrative offices. The first phase of the project also provided the Huskers with a second indoor workout facility, the Hawks Championship Center. The additions pushed Nebraska's capacity above 80,000 for the first time, and in the 2006 season finale, a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 85,800 witnessed the Huskers' triumph over Colorado. Nebraska's average home attendance for 2006 was a school-record 85,044, as nearly 600,000 fans watched the Huskers in Memorial Stadium last year. Overall, nearly 1.1 million fans saw the Huskers in person last year.
Tunnel Walk Tradition
The Tunnel Walk, which began in 1994, has become an integral part of Memorial Stadium's game-day experience. It was created as a way for fans to share in the excitement of the team emerging from the locker room, something only a few could do before HuskerVision's cameras and big screens came to Memorial Stadium. The sounds of the Alan Parsons Project's "Sirius" and the roar of the 85,000 frenzied fans rock the stadium as the Huskers burst through the locker room doors and into the tunnel on their way to the Memorial Stadium FieldTurf. The players emerge through the Tunnel Walk Gates located in the northwest corner of the stadium. The gates are guarded by members of the Nebraska National Guard service units and opened by specially selected service men and women each game. From 1994 through the 2005 season, the Tunnel Walk began in the former varsity locker room in the South Stadium, and the Huskers burst onto the field from the southwest corner. With the completion of the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex in the summer of 2006, Nebraska's locker room returned to its original home in the North Stadium, causing the shift in the Huskers' entrance from the southwest corner to the northwest corner of the field. Wall walking down an interior hall in the Osborne Complex toward the field, the Huskers are led by Head Coach Bill Callahan, and all raise their hands to touch the lucky horseshoe that hangs above the door as the Huskers leave the North Stadium. The same horseshoe hung in the South Stadium tunnel, and before that the horseshoe hung above Nebraska's locker room entrance in the original North Stadium.
Greatest Fans in College Football
The Sea Of Red
The very entrance at Memorial Stadium welcomes Husker fans with the following phrase: "Through these gates pass the Greatest Fans in College Football." Nebraska football fans are perhaps the most loyal in college football. Entering the 2006 season, Nebraska owned an NCAA record streak of 275 consecutive sellouts at Memorial Stadium. Although the Huskers added more than 6,000 seats to the stadium before the start of the 2006 season, Nebraska received approximately 15,000 requests for the new seats, ensuring that the sellout streak would continue in the years to come with capacity crowds reaching more than 80,0000 at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska's football fans have been given the distinguished title - "The Sea of Red" - as waves of red-clad Husker fans follow Nebraska at home and on the road. In fact, the entire state follows the Huskers, along with an ever-growing national fan base, packing Memorial Stadium for every game since 1962. Husker fans bring their show on the road as well. More than 60,000 red-clad Huskers trekked to Pasadena for the 2002 Rose Bowl, and in 2001, more than 30,000 Huskers swarmed South Bend for a matchup with Notre Dame.
Spring Game Crowds
Perhaps the most impressive measurement of the support Husker fans give to the Nebraska football team comes from its Spring Game attendance. Over the past three seasons, more than 182,000 fans have flocked to Memorial Stadium to watch NU’s final practice of the spring, including a record 63,416 fans in 2005. The Huskers have averaged nearly 61,000 fans per Spring Game over the past three years to conclude spring practice. By comparison, seven of the Big 12 schools drew fewer than 15,000 fans for their 2006 spring games.
Fan Day
Another Husker tradition is Fan Day which attracts nearly 10,000 fans annually to Memorial Stadium during fall camp. Every Husker player and coach signs autographs and takes pictures with fans in a tradition that dates back more than 30 years.
New Traditions
One of Nebraska’s newest traditions began in 2005, when the Huskers joined the student section in singing "There is No Place Like Nebraska" after each victory.
Economic Impact
Direct Impact
Most athletic department expenditures were associated with economic activity in Lincoln during the 2004-2005 fiscal year. A portion, however, was not. For instance, $6.6 million of expenditures were debt service payments. Debt service expenditures go to finance past projects rather than current economic activity. We also exclude recruiting costs, which are approximately $1.0 million, because a significant portion of this spending will occur in other states. Excluding recruiting costs is a conservative assumption, because a portion of this spending does occur in Lincoln. We do include payments for team travel. While much of the travel expenses by the University of Nebraska teams would go out of state, these would largely be compensated as opposing teams playing in Lincoln spend part of their travel budgets in Lincoln. Excluding debt services and recruiting leaves $49.2 million in current expenditures for the 2004-2005 fiscal year. A portion of this $49.2 million in current expenditure is excluded from the direct impact of athletic department operations. This is done because some department revenue originates from within the Lincoln metropolitan area, including the ticket purchases, donations tied to ticket purchases, and concession spending of Lincoln area fans. This conservative approach is tantamount to assuming that all Lincoln area fans would spend their income elsewhere in Lincoln if not at University of Nebraska home games, presumably on other types of local recreation or entertainment. In reality, of course, Lincoln area fans might have spent some of that money attending sporting events in Kansas City or Omaha or taking vacations.
The Bureau of Business Research estimated
They estimated that 43% of fans attending football games and 59% of fans attending men’s basketball, baseball, and volleyball games live in the Lincoln metropolitan area. Combining these figures, spending by Lincoln metropolitan area fans on tickets and concessions and donations tied to ticket purchases accounted for 28.3% of all athletic department revenue. 71.8% of revenue came from sources outside of Lincoln. The direct impact of the athletic department on the Lincoln metropolitan area economy is 71.8% of $49.2 million or $35.3 million. The direct economic impact of worker earnings is adjusted by the same proportion, as is direct employment. The same approach also can be used to estimate the direct sales tax impact. The University of Nebraska athletic department paid just over $1.7 million in state and local sales taxes in 2004-2005 due to ticket, concession, and other taxable sales. One-fifth of these taxes are paid to local government. The local share of this amount is $343,000. The direct local sales tax impact is 71.8% of $343,000, or $246,000. As indicated earlier, 73% of athletic department expenditures were due to the football team. The direct impact for football is 73% of the direct impact for the athletic department or $25.8 million. The football team accounted for just less than $1.5 million in state and local sales tax payments, yielding local sales tax revenue of 298,000. The direct local sales tax impact is 71.8% of this total or $214,000.
Economic Impact of Additional Home Football Games
Note that these annual impact estimates were based on the 2004-2005 fiscal year, a season when Nebraska hosted only six home football games (plus the Spring Game). In future years, Nebraska will always host seven home games and will possibly host eight home games. As a result, the athletic department’s economic impact will be even higher in these future years. We estimated that additional economic impact based on the expected increase on fan spending from an additional 78,000 fans at each additional home game. We also consider the impact from earnings of event and concession workers at each additional game, but we conservatively assumed no other increases in athletic department expenditures despite increased revenue.
• The economic impact would have been $5.5 million more, or $119.8 million a year, if Nebraska hosted seven home football games.
• The economic impact would have been $11.1 million more, or $125.4 million a year, if Nebraska hosted eight home football games.
Economic Impact on State of Nebraska
The UNL athletic department has a statewide impact on the Nebraska economy. While we are not able to break out the impact for specific communities such as Omaha, this section of the report presents a range of estimates of the statewide economic impact based on alternative assumptions about whether ticket purchases, game day spending, and donations by fans who live in Nebraska create an economic impact on the state. The finding is that the annual statewide economic impact on Nebraska was between $48.0 million and $155.1 million during the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Note that this estimate only included the spending of fans that attend UNL games and did not include the spending of fans who gather to watch the game in homes or in restaurants throughout Nebraska. We estimate economic impact first under the conservative assumption that ticket spending and donations tied to ticket purchases and off-site spending from fans who live in Nebraska does not contribute an economic impact to the state. This was the same conservative assumption made for fans from the Lincoln area when calculating the economic impact of UNL athletics on the Lincoln metropolitan area.
This approach assumes that all fan spending (ticket purchases, donations tied to ticket purchases, concessions, and off-site spending) for attending UNL home games would have been spent in Nebraska in any case, presumably on other recreation and entertainment. We also provide a second impact estimate under an optimistic assumption. In that scenario, we assume that all spending and donations from fans living in Nebraska contributes to an economic impact for the state. In other words, fans attending UNL home games would have spent all of their money out of state if not spending it at UNL home games. For example, fans that live in Nebraska would have instead spent money attending sporting events in Kansas City or during out-of-state vacations. Reality lies somewhere between the conservative and optimistic assumptions. If attending UNL home games were not an option, fans likely would have directed a portion of their ticket purchases, game-day spending, and donations toward other recreation and entertainment within Nebraska and a portion out of state. The precise portions are uncertain, however. Results therefore will be presented in a range. At the low end of the range is the impact under the conservative scenario, while at the high end of the range is the optimistic scenario.
Marketing Overview
A revenue stream that continues to flow for the Nebraska Athletic Department is from the revenues generated by the Huskers' Athletic Marketing Office. Those funds, coupled with an increase in private donations and licensing royalties, have helped the self-supporting Athletic Department excel. The overall marketing and promotions philosophy of the Athletic Marketing office is to increase attendance and support for all athletic events by providing an entertaining collegiate atmosphere, while generating revenue opportunities and ticket sales. The focus is also geared toward activities and events, which create a traditional collegiate atmosphere and communicate the overall quality of the highly successful NU athletic program.
Corporate Sponsorships
The Athletic Marketing Office has created many long lasting, well-respected relationships through corporate sponsors. In 1992, the Athletic Department launched a sponsorship program which enabled corporations and businesses to support the Huskers while receiving valuable advertising exposure at NU athletic events. This popular program, which involves all sports, has become a revenue fountain for the department. Alltel, First National Bank, Pepsi and adidas are some of the largest contributors to the Nebraska Athletic program. Sponsorship packages can include a combination of premium tickets, use of logos, parking, event signage, company logos on program covers and/or public address announcements during athletic events. Businesses utilize these packages to entertain clients, reward their employees and take advantage of the exposure.
HuskerVision and Marketing
In order for HuskerVision to become a Memorial Stadium reality and to maintain it today, the Athletic Marketing Office was given the charge of selling sponsorships to pay for the replay boards. The first collegiate football team to have instant replay boards at an exclusive college venue, Husker fans have thoroughly enjoyed the two 17 by 24 foot screens placed in the southeast and northwest corners of Memorial Stadium. The cost of the system was paid for entirely by commercial sponsorships sold by the Athletic Marketing Office.
Football Sponsorships
A successful football team provides ample opportunity to generate revenue within its playing venue. In 1995, the Athletic Department brought the sale of scoreboard signage and game day packages in-house, which made the Athletic Marketing Office responsible for the sale of those packages. That move allowed the department to work directly with the sponsors and maintain a clean, uncluttered look in Memorial Stadium, thereby maximizing revenue for the scholarship fund and increasing the revenue for the sponsor.
Husker Nation Pavilion
The 2003 football season marked the beginning of the Husker Nation Pavilion, which has become a new tradition on Husker Football game days. The Pavilion, which takes place on the Ed Weir Track, just northeast of Memorial Stadium, is the largest pre-game tailgate in college football. Husker fans can enjoy many activities before each football game including the live pre-game radio broadcast, a live band, the Kids Zone, Husker Power testing, many food vendors and other new exhibits and events every game day. The Athletic Marketing office is the main operator behind the Husker Nation Pavilion, setting up the Pavilion each week and coordinating the entertainment and events taking place each game. The Pavilion is also the place for corporate sponsors to host their own tailgate party before each game in a reserved tent. Through the Athletic Marketing office and the Athletic Ticket Office, corporate tent packages are sold and allow many groups and organizations to become official sponsors of the Husker Nation Pavilion. Tent packages include a reserved tent spot at the Pavilion, a complete catered meal, tickets to the game and game day programs.
Olympic Sports
While a great deal of time and effort continues to be spent developing comprehensive corporate sponsorship programs for football and men's basketball, the Athletic Marketing Office also strives to develop promotional and marketing plans for all Husker Olympic sport teams. These plans are similar in nature to the football and men's basketball plans and includes program ad sales, event tickets, promotions, etc. The cooperation between the coaches, student-athletes, ticket office, sports information office, business office and development offices make it possible to produce promotions which increases attendance at these sporting events.
Red Zone
One of the most visible and highly successful additions created and implemented in 2000-2001 by the athletic marketing office was the Red Zone. The Red Zone consists of men’s basketball student season ticket holders with seats behind the baskets on the A-level. When students pick up their season tickets they received a Red Zone t-shirt and are required to wear it to every game in order to sit in the A-section. The Red Zone has been a huge success by increasing student season ticket sales significantly and creating a great basketball atmosphere. The upcoming year will bring new additions to the Red Zone launching it into one of the best Men’s Basketball student sections in the country.
Interns
Several part-time undergraduate students serve as interns in the marketing office. Each is assigned a specific sport to create and implement promotional plans for that particular sport. These students are a very important part of the marketing office's workforce and make a great impact during their four to six semester terms. The experience they gain has proven valuable as many have gone on to work in the professional ranks including positions with the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Colorado Rockies, Sioux City Explorers and Sioux Falls Canaries.
Event Marketing
The marketing office is not only responsible for planning events and finding corporate sponsors, but is also actively involved as the actual events take place. Marketing staff is present at almost every sports event held at home. At home events, corporate sponsors are hosted in the Hospitality rooms, which are available for sponsors before and during every Men’s and Women’s basketball games. Sponsors are treated to a catered meal, game day programs and refreshments to make their game day experience one of a kind.
Cheerleaders and Yell Squad
Starting in 1997-98, the Athletic marketing office took over all responsibilities for the Spirit Squad in order to coordinate game day atmosphere in a more efficient way. The Spirit Squad can be broken down into these Varsity cheer squads: has two Varsity cheer squads, the All-Girl and Coed Yell Squad and Varsity dance team (the Scarlets), and two mascots (Herbie and Lil’ Red). The Spirit Squad promotes the athletic, fun atmosphere and provides support for athletic events. During an academic year, the spirit squad members make more than 200 appearances at athletic, philanthropic, community and state events. Members of the Spirit Squad condition and practice 10 to 20 hours per week. A major focus of the Spirit Squad is education. Collectively the current members hold a 3.2 grade point average. The yell and dance squads both earned top 10 honors at their collegiate national competition in 2000. The yell squad finished eighth, while the Scarlets Dance Team finished second in Division I-A. Nebraska's Lil' Red mascot finished fourth at the 2000 NCAA national championship.
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