Dean Smith was so concerned about overshadowing his successor, Bill Guthridge, that he rarely attended North Carolina basketball home games in the season after his retirement.
Nebraska football’s legend-in-residence, Tom Osborne, appears ready to adopt a similar policy this autumn. For the first time in 36 seasons, he won’t be on the sidelines of Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoons. And he might not be in the crowd, either.
Osborne recently said he would not attend the Cornhuskers’ opener Saturday against Louisiana Tech because he doesn’t want to create a fuss.
“I feel it’s important that the focus be on the team and the coaching staff and not on someone who used to do something,” Osborne said. “But if it’s on TV, I may watch it.”
Osborne, 61, cited health concerns when he retired–he had double-bypass surgery in 1985 and was hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat last November–but he hasn’t taken to a rocking chair.
Osborne recently returned from a three-week tour of Africa. He also has visited Alaska. And this fall he will teach two courses here–“Coaching of Football” for undergraduates and “Sport in the American University” in graduate school.
It appears as if Osborne the professor will be every bit as popular as Osborne the coach was. According to an athletic department spokeswoman, the university has received dozens of requests from non-students to audit Osborne’s class–including one from a national sports magazine.
Under Nebraska academic policy, audits are permitted at the discretion of the instructor.
“If he allowed everyone in, they’d have to hold the class in here,” the spokeswoman said, motioning to 76,000-seat Memorial Stadium.