Tom Osborne, Nebraska coaching legend, marks 89th birthday

tom osborne, born Feb. 23, 1937, in Hastings, Nebraska, turns 89 today, a milestone that recalls his 25 years leading the Nebraska football program from 1973 to 1997 and a career that spanned coaching, elected office and athletic administration.

Tom Osborne's coaching record and championships

Osborne served as head coach of the Nebraska football team from 1973 to 1997 and compiled 13 conference championships and three national titles during that span, a run that is explicitly tied to the 25 years he spent at the program's helm.

From Hastings classrooms to Washington

tom osborne graduated from Hastings High School, earned a degree from Hastings College and went on to receive master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After his coaching career, he was elected to serve three terms in the U. S. House of Representatives, representing Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District.

Return to Nebraska athletics and recent milestones

Osborne later returned to the University of Nebraska as athletic director in 2007 and retired from that role in 2012. His career milestones—from his birth in Hastings on Feb. 23, 1937, through coaching championships and public service—are being highlighted as part of ongoing local remembrance this week.

On July 4, 2026, the country will celebrate its 250th birthday, and every day leading up to it a local series will take a look at the people and events that shaped the area.

Officials and institutions tied to Osborne’s career have scheduled no additional events in the material provided here; the next broadly noted date in the public record is the July 4, 2026, semiquincentennial observance.