Coach Osborne on the field.
Former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne added membership into yet another hall of fame Wednesday, as Osborne was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame Wednesday. Osborne was elected for induction by a unanimous 7-0 vote.
While it wasn’t a surprise that Osborne was inducted, it took a change in the laws for Osborne to have the opportunity for induction so soon. Previously, a candidate for the Nebraska Hall of Fame could only be considered 35 years after their death. But LB596 waived that 35-year waiting period and allowed the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission to consider living candidates, specifically leaders in college athletics and youth mentorship, all but earmarking the bill for Osborne’s candidacy. The bill, and Osborne’s induction, was backed by Governor Jim Pillen, who played for Osborne in the 1970s and said in January, as LB596 was being considered that, “Our state is indebted to coach and all the great things he has accomplished during his lifetime. It is time we recognize him appropriately and I’m very pleased that an overwhelming majority of the Legislature agrees and that a bi-partisan group is co-sponsoring this truly wonderful, unifying bill.”
The Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission meets just once every five years to consider inductees. The last inductee before Osborne was Malcolm X in 2022.