University of Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium
They call it the Sea of Red, and one glimpse of the stadium on an autumn Saturday in Lincoln will tell you why. Current capacity is more than 85,000, but attendance often exceeds 90,000. Built in 1923 and named in honor of Nebraskans who served in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World War I, the original stadium was modeled after Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Renovations during and after the tenure of legendary coach Tom Osborne dramatically expanded and modernized the stadium.
The game-day experience in Lincoln has all the essential elements: A player walk through and past the fans, a marching band pregame spectacular, various collegiate eccentrics (scan the seats for Cornheads, Nebraska's answer to the Cheeseheads who populate Green Bay Packers games) and that one Alan Parsons Project song that every sports arena in America seems legally required to play. If you go, don't forget to wear red.
University of Nebraska Cornhuskers History
When they've been good, they've been dominant: Five undefeated seasons between 1900 and 1916, including a stretch of 34 straight victories; national championships in 1970 and 1971 and then three more between 1994 and 1997. The 1971 Cornhuskers squad and the 1995 bunch are reckoned two of the greatest teams ever to play a down in college football.
It was Tom Osborne, head coach from 1973 to 1997 and later a U.S. congressman, who firmly established Nebraska as a national powerhouse. Famous for his I-formation offenses and state-of-the-art conditioning programs, Osborne coached Nebraska to 13 conference championships. His Cornhuskers finished in the Top 15 of the final AP poll in 24 of his 25 seasons. Think of Nebraska football, and Osborne's great runners come to mind — not just the running backs like Mike Rozier, Calvin Jones and Ahman Green but also dual-threat quarterbacks like Turner Gill and Tommie Frazier.
In 2010, Nebraska cut ties with the Big 12 and joined the Big 10.
