Husker Conspiracy Theory Makes Sense

Tom Oborne

The Omaha World Herald has an article today about Nebraska being the downfall of the UNO football team.  You can read the article here.

The funny thing is I was going to write about this last night but just didn't get around to it, I'm glad my conspiracy theory wasn't off base.   Let me explain further why I think it makes sense.

Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne (who I like and respect) knows a lot about politics and he knows how to get what he wants.  I still believe he single handedly got Steve Pederson fired by working silently behind the scenes.

The UNO situation is another behind the scenes deal.  Osborne has invested a lot of time in creating and molding the culture he wants in Lincoln.  Back to his coaching days it was a badge of honor to be a Nebraska kid to walk on and then earn a scholarship for 2 or 3 years.  There was not another in-state threat for competition like we see in Iowa with the Hawks, Cyclones and yes even the panthers.   Nebraska could get away with not offering a kid a scholarship.   Osborne knows full well that Husker Football is a way of life and he can get away with asking a kid to pay for 1, 2 or even 3 years before giving a scholarship.  This frees up scholarships to kids in California, Texas and Florida.  It's brilliant and it works!

I'm old school so UNO jumping to Division I-AA changes the game.  NO!  The Mavericks would never beat the Huskers on the field BUT they could beat them in the recruiting game.  In the past UNO would offer only a partial scholarship which is not that enticing to kids with Big Red Dreams.   If UNO were to jump to Division 1 sub-division it would be more apt to give full rides to a select few.   A select few who might want to play at Nebraska but take the full ride at UNO.  This alone would damage what Nebraska is trying to accomplish and that would not fly with Osborne.  Why, it changes the way the Huskers have to recruit in-state players and trickles down to national recruiting as well.

Osborne may have lost his bid to become governor a few years back, but like I said he knows how to play politics and he knows how to do it behind the scenes.