Tom Osborne

So often, we are told that legacy is measured in terms of material success-winning, acclaim, trophies, wealth, or personal happiness and satisfaction. In "The Legacy of Leadership," however, Coach Tom Osborne discusses how leading with the end in mind is the only way to leave a legacy that truly matters. Through personal stories and teachings, Coach Osborne shares the foundational actions (accountability, priorities, and strategy) and foundational values (values and vision, love, integrity, humility, patience, self-control, and loyalty) that lead to impactful outflow (serving, mentoring, and empowerment) and impactful outcomes (confidence, unity, perseverance, excellence, transformation, and success). "The Legacy of Leadership" also includes topical stories from some of the people that know Coach Osborne best (Trev Alberts, Turner Gill, Frank Solich, Ron Brown and Jim Pillen, e.g.) to highlight how he has lived these principles out as a coach, congressman, athletic director, mentor, family man, and follower of Christ. Most importantly, this book will help you better understand that the true legacy of leadership is not about you. It's about honoring God through your leadership and serving those that you lead. Tom Osborne is a renowned college football coach, respected politician, and accomplished athletic administrator. From 1973 to 1997, he served as head coach at the University of Nebraska, leading the teams to unprecedented success. Under his guidance, the Cornhuskers claimed three national championships and 13 conference titles. Beyond football, Osborne co-founded the non-profit TeamMates Mentoring program with his wife Nancy in 1991. In 2000, he ventured into public service and was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Osborne also served as Nebraska's Athletic Director from 2007 to 2013. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

From the author of 'Dead Man In the Orchestra Pit' and 'Foozlers', comes another tale of madcap human folly. Louella Debra Poule is doing an eighteen-month stint on a weapons charge at a minimum security institution up BC's Fraser Valley. Her drug dealing, sort-of-boyfriend Jimmy Flood, and his sidekick, Blacky Harbottle, should have taken the rap, but with their list of "priors" and pending drug charges, a weapons offense would have put them in the slammer for quite a little stay. Louella did the "right thing"; she did what was expected of her by those on the street. Six months into Louella's sentence, her mother dies. Upon Louella's early release (recommended on good behaviour and for pursuing sincere in-roads to rehabilitation) she discovers that she has inherited a good deal of money and a nice condo in a treed and quiet suburb of Vancouver. It is here that Louella Poule sits in relative anonymity and safety, here that she decides to take some time away from the influence of her former "associates," tend her mother's garden, maintain her new-found sobriety, and reassess her life. But, as so often happens, her past comes a callin'. A story of addiction, rehabilitation, and finding meaning in life. " 'Budge' is one of the more quirky, unconventional, picaresque novels to come along in a while. It can be pleasurable, if the reader is willing to roll with Osborne's approach to prose, which is original, if not necessarily expedient. Osborne tends to dance all around a point before he makes it, and his paragraphs can go on for quite a bit, without necessarily being cumbersome. In comparison to similar authors, he's like Faulkner without the density, Stein without the obtuseness, or Thomas Wolfe without the extravagance; of those, he's closest to Wolfe. There's a rhythm to Budge's text that Osborne might not have achieved with a more minimalist approach. There's a sense he's luxuriating in the weaving of his narrative, repeating certain key phrases, winkingat the reader and leading him through a meandering, though focused plot. To fully appreciate 'Budge', we must relinquish our trust to Osborne, a somewhat loopy shaman. ... Tom Osborne warrants a great deal of praise for freshness of content, viewpoint, and plot. He knows how to use language with skill and verve. ..." -Foreword Reviews

The back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995 prompted more fans and media to take notice of the football program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. For Tom Osborne, then head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the added scrutiny was at times flattering and at other times problematic. On Solid Ground was written for the fan seeking greater insight into the Nebraska football program behind the scenes during the 1990s. Osborne presents not only an accurate portrayal of what happened to the team during those championship seasons but also his personal philosophy of life. While recounting how many of his players overcame great odds to achieve what they did both on and off the field, Osborne also straightforwardly addresses the heavy criticism the program received for the misbehavior of a few team members. On Solid Ground also considers the tension between those who believe an athlete in trouble should be made an example of and those who maintain that a structured environment is the best way to improve human behavior.

At age twenty-eight, when Tom Osborne agreed to join Bob Devaney's full-time coaching staff at the University of Nebraska, he resolved to be a head coach by the time he reached age thirty-five. Little did he know that this goal would chart his course toward becoming one of the nation's premier football coaches. Six years later in 1972, Devaney named Osborne as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In high school and college, Osborne had been an outstanding athlete in his own right. He went on to play professional football and to earn his master's and doctorate degrees in educational psychology. Throughout all these years in sports and academics, he was developing his unusual and inspiring philosophy of coaching, which above all emphasizes the process of athletics. In More Than Winning, Osborne gives an in-depth personal account of his life—the forces that shaped his values, his own accomplishments in sports, and his experiences as a coach at Nebraska. He describes his philosophy of coaching, shares personal perspectives on football greats, and gives his view of key Nebraska games up through the 1984 Orange Bowl.

'Foozlers' is a 24-hour "Odyssey" that runs a juggernaut through the high- and lowlands of Vancouver. Jerry Lowe is the reluctant driver of a getaway car for two sketchy junkies on the make. A pair of cops spend a shift wobbling on the cusp of total breakdown. The groom-to-be in an Indian arranged marriage seeks an escape of the carnal variety. Soon, they will all intersect paths with a gas station attendant and a very "special" car wash operator. And somebody's got to do something about that noisy, bad-tempered cockatoo. 'Foozlers' chronicles that thin line between sane and insane behaviour, and the mayhem and unpredictability fuelled by the "Butterfly Effect"-strangers' paths crossing for only an instant but having explosive effects. By story's end, lives, or at least attitudes, will change. Sort of. "Like Blaise Cendrars' 'To the End of the World', John Kennedy Toole's 'A Confederacy of Dunces' and the whacked-out works of J. P. Donleavy, Terry Southern and William Burroughs, Foozlers is a madcap tour de force." -The Vancouver Sun "Irreverent, break-neck pace, and rollercoaster prose that's a lot of fun to ride" -Quill & Quire "It's a caper story with every element slightly off-kilter. And that's the charm of [ 'Foozlers'] . . . . Read it and laugh." - RainReview.com

As head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers for twenty-five years, Tom Osborne had one of the most impressive records in college football. Before retiring in 1997, he took his team to a bowl game every year, won three national championships in the last four years he coached, and ended his career boasting an 84 percent winning record. But while these numbers testify to an undeniable accomplishment, it has been another, more powerful force that has shaped Osborne's life: his faith. In Faith in the Game, this legendary coach shares the philosophy he used to create not only a champion football team, but also a meaningful life. Both a memoir of Osborne's career with the Cornhuskers and an inspirational guide to making the most out of life, Faith in the Game presents the traits Osborne helped to instill in his team, including core values like honesty, loyalty, and courage. Illustrated with compelling behind-the-scenes stories of the Nebraska football team and conveyed in his own captivating tone, Osborne's message reveals the value of hard work, the need to balance our professional and personal obligations, and, above all, the importance of bringing faith into our lives. For those seeking a spiritually centered approach to living and working, this candid account of Tom Osborne's faith and strength is a warm and authentic book from which all of us can learn.

As head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers for twenty-five years, Tom Osborne had one of the most impressive records in college football. Before retiring in 1997, he took his team to a bowl game every year, won three national championships in the last four years he coached, and ended his career boasting an almost unheard of 84 percent winning record. But while these numbers testify to an undeniable accomplishment, it has been another, more powerful force that has shaped Tom's life: his faith. In Faith in the Game, this legendary coach shares the philosophy he used to create not only a champion football team but also a meaningful life. Both a memoir of Osborne's career with the Cornhuskers and an inspirational guide to making the most out of life by cultivating core values like honesty, courage, and loyalty, Faith in the Game presents the traits Osborne helped to instill in his team--traits that helped the Cornhuskers achieve their spectacular level of success. Osborne focuses on the aspects of character that he has emphasized in his work on and off the field, illustrated with compelling behind-the-scenes stories of the Nebraska football team. Conveyed with his own captivating integrity, Osborne's message reveals the value of hard work, the importance of finding a balance between our professional and personal obligations, and, above all, the importance of bringing faith into our lives to help us through times of crisis. Tom Osborne is beloved not only for his outstanding record but also for the commitment and dedication he has always shown to his players and coaching staff as a mentor, coach, and friend. His ability to motivate a team has come not with last-minute pep talks but through a focus on consistency and strength of character. "Winning," as he writes in Faith in the Game, "is a by-product of sound preparation." For those seeking a spiritually centered approach to living and working, this candid account of Tom Osborne's faith and strength is a warm and authentic book from which all of us can learn.