School Sport

On autumn Saturday afternoons in America’s heartland, or more specifically Lincoln, Nebraska, the corn may be as high as an elephant’s eye, but all you’ll see is a Sea of Red. Few regions embrace their football team like the fans of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

With a capacity of 81,067, Memorial Stadium holds the ongoing NCAA record of 311 consecutive sellouts, a streak which began in 1962. On game days, the Stadium becomes the third-largest “city” in the state, behind Omaha and Lincoln. Nebraska is a current member of the Big 12 Conference, but will be joining the Big Ten Conference in July, 2011.

The Huskers can claim five national championships, the most recent in 1997 and are currently fourth all-time in victories, trailing only Notre Dame, Texas and Michigan. Nebraska ranks fifth in overall bowl appearances with 47.

Nebraska also has had some of the most successful head coaches to lead their program, including Hall of Famers Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne. Three Nebraska players have received the Heisman Trophy: Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier and Eric Crouch. Current prominent NFL players who attended Nebraska include LB Barrett Ruud (Tampa Bay), DLs Kyle Vanden Bosch and Ndamukong Suh (Detroit), and OG Carl Nicks (New Orleans).