12/25/24
October 15, 2007
Nebraska Fires Athletic Director Steve Pederson : The Cornhuskers' worst home loss since 1958 was the last straw. The AD since 2002, Pederson was fired only three months after the school extended his contract through June 2013. "You make the best decision you can with the information you have," Chancellor Harvey Perlman said. How did Dan Cook, a 72-year-old booster whose name is on the team's practice field, take the news? "The Huskers are off the will," he told Huskerpedia.
Husker related, albeit not Pederson related.
posted by Joey Michaels at 07:57 PM on October 15, 2007
Is Callahan next? I doubt it.
posted by Joe188 at 10:17 PM on October 15, 2007
So what Perlman is telling me is that athletics be damned, it's the football program as the moneymaker that counts. Welcome to big-time football colleges where campus life literally lives and breathes by the team's success.
posted by jmd82 at 10:20 PM on October 15, 2007
Having attended a big-time football college, maybe 10% of students live and breathe sports. The rest are meh or don't care at all.
posted by aerotive at 04:50 AM on October 16, 2007
Having attended a big-time football college, maybe 10% of students live and breathe sports. The rest are meh or don't care at all. That's why thousands of students don't pack stadiums across the nation every week, right? The rest are I am meh or don't care at all.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 06:05 AM on October 16, 2007
Having attended a big-time football college, maybe 10% of students live and breathe sports. The rest are meh or don't care at all. I attended one, too, and on Saturdays, that 10% made up the students who were meh.
posted by jmd82 at 08:21 AM on October 16, 2007
Nebraska is a little different than other programs. It's not just the student body that cares, it's the entire state. They have no professional sports there.
posted by drumdance at 11:33 AM on October 16, 2007
Nebraska is a little different than other programs. It's not just the student body that cares, it's the entire state. No different than Alabama though.
posted by justgary at 11:46 AM on October 16, 2007
No different than Alabama though. Yeah, but Alabama has Auburn. 'Bama suffering == Auburn schadenfreude, or at least you can hope that the other major school in your state plays well if you don't. Everyone in Nebraska has an opinion about the Huskers AD. Here in Colorado there is a steady stream of Huskers fans calling Colorado radio stations to complain.
posted by drumdance at 12:02 PM on October 16, 2007
Well its about time someone did something right at Nebraska. Pederson is a start. Now we just need to get rid of Callahan so he can stop breaking all the wrong records. It kills me to see a program with so much heritage to be abused by a bunch of self centered rich jerkoffs. Oh yeah who cares if a 72 yo booster wants to take them off his will. He is probably crazy anyway probably forgot what team he was talkinig about. I think they are all blowing sushine up evryones butt from the top down lets make all the right changes before its too late.
posted by CROWBARSLUDGE at 02:48 PM on October 16, 2007
Osborne is the interim AD. At least he's no longer a Congressman. That's why thousands of students don't pack stadiums across the nation every week, right? Showing up at home games and even rooting overenthusiastically does not always equate to living and breathing for the team. I went to plenty of our games while at USC and even now root for them but they were never a matter of life and death for me.
posted by billsaysthis at 04:33 PM on October 16, 2007
Kinda think his replacement was all ready contacted before Pederson was let go. Bring back the past to build a new future in Husker land.
posted by robi8259 at 08:05 PM on October 16, 2007
Does Tom Osborne have to return the gifts he received upon announcing his retirement from Nebraska football? Namely the "share" of the 1997 National Championship he was given by coaches and sportswriters? Just wondering
posted by B-2 Spirit at 08:21 PM on October 16, 2007
110,000 screaming fans making a "white out" in Beaver Stadium. Only about half of them are students. The rest are alums. Football at Penn State is not important?
posted by Howard_T at 11:26 PM on October 16, 2007
Yeah, but Alabama has Auburn. Sure, but I was referring to this comment: It's not just the student body that cares, it's the entire state. The entire state cares in one way or another. In fact, you could include just about any school in the SEC.
posted by justgary at 12:33 AM on October 17, 2007
Bill, the assertion was made that 90% of students don't care about sports at all. I was merely trying to point out the fallacy of that statement. You might not live and breathe sports, but to say that only 10% of students care, particularly when the poster claims to have attented a "big-time football college," is a deeply flawed argument at best.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:26 AM on October 17, 2007
The entire state cares in one way or another. In fact, you could include just about any school in the SEC. Yes, but only the Auburn fans will seriously care about Auburn's AD and only the Bama fans will care about Bama's AD. Do you think Florida fans are calling for Bobby Bowden to be fired? Nebraska citizens are as unified and self-identified with Nebraska football as you'll find anywhere. The AD & coach are as important to them as the whole Steinbrenner/Torre thing is in NY. On game day Memorial Stadium's crowd is big enough to make it the state's third largest city. I'm sure a lot of people in Nebraska don't care either, but the point of the original comment was to highlight the difference between how major college football is perceived in different places. It's simply more important there than it is, say, in Colorado, even though Colorado is also a major program and views Nebraska as a major rival.
posted by drumdance at 11:02 AM on October 17, 2007
drumdance, I defy you to find a more knowledgeable and passionate group of fans than LSU has. The last Tiger game I went to, I was sitting behind an old lady in overalls who was discussing the pros and cons of the nickle defense on third and 14. These people eat, sleep, and breathe football. I'm sure it is the same way in the rest of the SEC.
posted by hawkguy at 12:45 PM on October 17, 2007
Husker d'oh!
posted by kirkaracha at 03:24 PM on October 17, 2007
If we take this to it's logical conclusion, then Harvey Perlman should certainly be fired for his bad judgement in hiring Steve Pederson. This firing comes in spite of Pederson leading a huge renovation of the football and athletic facilities, and with no complaints about all the rest of Husker sports under his management. So what Perlman is telling me is that athletics be damned, it's the football program as the moneymaker that counts.