A Year Later - Exclusive Interview with A.D. Tom Osborne

October 16th marked the one year anniversary of Dr. Tom Osborne's return to Husker Athletics, this time as Athletic Director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Tom was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions regarding his first year as the head honcho of our beloved Husker program.

How has the transition been returning to athletics in your new role? Has the job been easier or tougher than you imagined?

Tom Osborne: The transition back to athletics has been relatively easy. Every job has good and bad parts. I would say for the most part the job has not been particularly difficult.

What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment thus far as athletic director?

Tom Osborne: Possibly the greatest accomplishment, if there have been any, has been that we had a number of people in the Athletic Department who were unhappy and were planning to quit and the general environment was not good. I believe that things have stabilized and most people are happy working here at the present time.

How would you rate the progress of Bo Pelini as head football coach?

Tom Osborne: I think Bo Pelini has put together a good staff and I think our football team is getting better. Even though we lost 3 straight games to highly ranked teams, I think the future bodes well for Bo. He has the players playing hard and is working hard at recruiting.

What is the biggest thing you would like to accomplish during the remaining time in your current job?

Tom Osborne: There are several things I hope to accomplish. First I hope to see steady improvement in the football program. Secondly, we would like to get a practice facility built for the basketball team and make some improvements in our Hall of Fame - memorabilia area. We also are looking at the possibility of building a new arena in Lincoln which our basketball team would play in and I will undoubtedly have a role to play in this project as well. Overall, I am mostly interested in seeing to it that our student athletes are treated well, that their athletic and academic experience here is good, and to that end, we are currently building a new Student Life Center, which will house our academic counseling, life skills and compliance areas.

Do you have plans to stay on past your current contract? Or do you feel that it will be time to enjoy life away from sports and politics?

Tom Osborne: I have no long-range plans at the present time. I serve at the discretion of the Chancellor of the University and will leave when he feels it is time for me to go.

What is your favorite sport aside from football?

Tom Osborne: My favorite sport aside from football is possibly basketball, although I very much enjoy watching our volleyball team play and I also am an avid observer of nearly all of the sports that we have here at the University. We currently have 23 sports in our Athletic Department.

Thanks again, Dr. Osborne, for talking time to speak with us!