[Husker] Husker baseball needs your help

Tue May 10 10:41:47 CDT 2011

The baseball program is in danger to falling to the Tony Sharpe era. I attended NU from 1971 to 1975 when Sharpe was the coach and games were played before at most, a few hundred fans. The Husker program was pathetic. The facilities were laughable, my high school team had comperable facilities which was a sad commentary.

Anderson needs to go and Osborne needs to hire a coach that can turn this program around. 
--
Greg Zimmerman, UNL '75
Overland Park, Kansas

---- Skylar Dodds <sklarbodds at cox.net> wrote: 
> Being as nice as possible saying this, I read that first article this morning too and thought it was pretty soft.  The ‘we judge more than just wins’  is often a copout, especially when you’re talking about a coach that will have finished at the bottom of his conference 3 years in a row.

That being said, the 2nd article (blog?) was actually more interesting and probably should have been included in the original.  At least he acknowledges that in 2 key areas BESIDES wins (attendance and academics) we’re not doing very well either.

Look, I know that I’m passionate about something that 95% of Nebraskans couldn‘t care less about.  I know that.  I don’t expect Anderson to be held to the same standards as the football coach (because if he was, he’d have been fired YEARS ago).  But I really feel as a baseball fan I’ve endured enough.  It’s been a very long time since baseball has been good in Lincoln…check that, it’s been a long time since baseball has been competitive at all in Lincoln.    Now we’re on the brink of the program all but disappearing with the move to the Big Ten unless we do something  sooner than later.  

I know the Big Ten isn’t what the Big XII is, but that IN NO WAY means that we can’t have a nationally competitive team in that conference.  Yes, we’ll have to schedule MUCH tougher OOC, but it can be done.  Not to mention, Osborne has said that a lot of Big XII teams have expressed interest in playing NU after the move.

Time has run out for Mike, there is zero defense left for him.

From: Mike Jaixen [mailto:mikejaixen at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 9:45 AM
To: Skylar Dodds
Cc: husker at tssi.com
Subject: Re: [Husker] Husker baseball needs your help

The World-Herald's Jon Nyatawa had a nice article on this subject.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110509/BIGRED/705099809#osborne-evaluates-on-more-than-just-record

For those of you thinking that Osborne isn't going to make a change, look at the following supplemental blog entry:

http://sports.omaha.com/2011/05/10/nu-baseball-osborne-understands-sports-challenges/

"Osborne also mentioned on Monday that success academically is one of his criteria for evaluating a coach. The NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate is one of the ways to judge that.

*	Nebraska’s APR score, a four-year figure that’s based on maintaining athletes’ eligibility, has gradually risen over the past five years, according to data provided by the NCAA. The Huskers’ most recent score, released in 2009, was 940 (out of 1,000), 14 points higher than what NU posted in 2005.
*	That score of 940 ranks does rank last in the Big 12 and would rank last in the Big Ten – though NU’s score will presumably rise when the new statistics, which will include the 2009-10 school year, are made public later this month."

Again, I don't believe Osborne will say anything negative during the season and fuel the fire against a coach.  But those numbers ranking last academically in the APR probably don't sit well with Osborne.

Mike Jaixen
http://huskermike.blogspot.com
http://www.cornnation.com

  _____  

From: Skylar Dodds <sklarbodds at cox.net>
To: Mike Nolan <nolan at tssi.com>; Borer Steve CAA <steve.borer at connectseward.org>
Cc: husker at tssi.com
Sent: Mon, May 9, 2011 1:44:19 PM
Subject: Re: [Husker] Husker baseball needs your help

Mike,

If weather is a part of it, it's a small one.  Attendance has declined
steadily over the past few years.

Take this weekend's Texas series.  There was every reason for fans to go to
these games (other than the product on the field).  The weather was nice,
it's our last time playing Texas as part of the Big XII.  They're the #5
team in the country.  They have a legit 1st round draft pick throwing on
Friday, etc. etc.

We drew and average of 3,663 with a max of 4101 coming on Saturday.  Yikes.
By comparison, in 2005 that series produced attendances of 8,485 8,153 and
5,947 for an average of 7,528.

Until a season or two ago, you couldn't buy reserved seats during the season
(season ticket holders only) you had to go G.A. and sit on the berms, now
for most series you can walk up a few minutes before the game and get
reserved.

There have been some cold games, but that's not what's keeping fans away (or
at least most of them).

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Nolan [mailto:nolan at tssi.com] 
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2011 11:44 AM
To: Borer Steve CAA
Cc: Skylar Dodds; husker at tssi.com
Subject: Re: [Husker] Husker baseball needs your help

I think right now might be a very difficult time to hire a new baseball
coach, with the pending change in conference.  

But I do agree that Mike Anderson has been rather disappointing.

A friend of mine is a big baseball fan and has gone to many Huskers
games, I'll have to ask her why she thinks attendance has fallen
so much.  (Weather could easily be a factor this year, it has been
a VERY COLD spring, though it's hot today.)  
--
Mike Nolan

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