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Husker Men Athletic Teams' Expectations

C

cobfather

Recruit
10 Year Member
What's up with the football, basketball and baseball teams? It just seems crazy that there has been little success in all 3 programs in the past 20 years. Baseball has not been to college world series since 2005. Basketball team hasn't won a big dance tournament game ever and has only been in the NCAA Tournament twice in 20 years. In football, it's been since 2001 that we were a national title contender and had way too may losing seasons since.

The tide has to change right? If I were the AD, my expectations going forward would be the following:

1. Football - minimum is 6-7 wins per season. Average - 8-9 wins a years. Above average 10 or more wins a year. Obviously the goal every year would be to contend for a national championship, but not realistic. In a twenty year span they should be in playoff or playoff contention at least 2-4 times.
2. Basketball - minimum .500 record Average - NIT or NCAA tournament - Above average - any NCAA tournament win or higher. I really don't have high expectations just because their never has been real success. But this team should either win a tournament game or make it to sweet 16 at least 2-3 times in a 20 year span.
3. Baseball - Minimum - At least top half in Big 10. Average - NCAA regional appearance but don't make second weekend. Above average - Make it to at least 2nd weekend of NCAA's. Nebraska should be one of the top baseball teams in Big 10 and should average going to NCAA 1st round at least 80% of the time. and getting to college world series at least once every 20 year cycle.

With all the money coming into the BIG 10 I don't think these are unrealistic expectations. Fan support is still amazingly high.
 

Football expectations seem pretty well documented. We need to be consistently hitting 8-10 wins per season.

I agree with you on baseball and basketball. We should be in the top half of the Big Ten for basketball and I'd say top 4-6 teams in baseball most years. It's not a stretch to think that we should be making at least regionals in baseball and at least cracking into March Madness (even as a 16 seed) every couple of seasons.
 
cobfather said:
What's up with the football, basketball and baseball teams? It just seems crazy that there has been little success in all 3 programs in the past 20 years. Baseball has not been to college world series since 2005. Basketball team hasn't won a big dance tournament game ever and has only been in the NCAA Tournament twice in 20 years. In football, it's been since 2001 that we were a national title contender and had way too may losing seasons since.

The tide has to change right? If I were the AD, my expectations going forward would be the following:

1. Football - minimum is 6-7 wins per season. Average - 8-9 wins a years. Above average 10 or more wins a year. Obviously the goal every year would be to contend for a national championship, but not realistic. In a twenty year span they should be in playoff or playoff contention at least 2-4 times.
2. Basketball - minimum .500 record Average - NIT or NCAA tournament - Above average - any NCAA tournament win or higher. I really don't have high expectations just because their never has been real success. But this team should either win a tournament game or make it to sweet 16 at least 2-3 times in a 20 year span.
3. Baseball - Minimum - At least top half in Big 10. Average - NCAA regional appearance but don't make second weekend. Above average - Make it to at least 2nd weekend of NCAA's. Nebraska should be one of the top baseball teams in Big 10 and should average going to NCAA 1st round at least 80% of the time. and getting to college world series at least once every 20 year cycle.

With all the money coming into the BIG 10 I don't think these are unrealistic expectations. Fan support is still amazingly high.
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Expectations vs. reality are probably two different things.

Football should be better than it has. There is too much investment and tradition for us to have been as bad as we have over the last decade. Expectation shouldn't be Nebraska of the 80s and 90s, but we should at the very least be in the top half of the conference.

Basketball is a much harder battle to climb. B1G is most years one of the deepest leagues. Nebraska has also NEVER been good at basketball. They don't have the name recognition to pull in the best of recruits. I think you are seeing the program trending upward (made Tournament last year, were on pace this year before a lousy finish). That said, it is a program that has yet to win a NCAA tournament game. Ever! Until you get over that hump, it is going to be a tough place to win, regardless of how much investment is made into the program.

I'm least familiar with the landscape of college baseball. They did manage to win the conference tournament last year. They've made the Regional most seasons within the last decade.

I guess the question I would pose back to you is: Why should expectations be higher? The AD should be setting audacious goals. I wouldn't expect them to go: Let's not worry about getting better. That said, when you ask about what is realistic, I think there are definite hurdles Nebraska faces in men's sports. Just because money is coming into the B1G and Nebraska, doesn't mean success. You have to keep in mind our main competition (the rest of the conference) is getting this same money.
 


IMO we should be a football school. Occasional success in other sports is sufficient for me. We had a great season last year in basketball and were headed to the bracket until we got derailed at the end of the year. I am fine with making the tournament every few years. I love the wrestling program and am fine where we are (which is very good). I love watching husker baseball but I really don't care. In the early 90s we were terrible, and no one really cared. GBR
 
treeplanter said:
With a 12 team playoff allowing for 2 and even 3 loss teams to get in on a yearly basis there is ABSOLUTELY no reason whatsoever not to expect the football program to be contending for national championships every season

Enough with the "this isn't the 1990s" and "this isn't the old Big 8" crap!
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While true, we still likely have to finish as at the least the third (maybe- fourth) best team in the conference, which is no cake walk. Even thinking back to the last time we were "good" (Pelini years), we never finished a regular season ranked in the top 12.

In 2010, we entered the Big XII championship ranked 13th but lost and fell to 17th. 2012, we were ranked 14th going into B1G title game, but fell to 23 after the loss. 2016, we were 17th going into the Iowa game, but fell to 24th after the loss.

We haven't finished a regular season (post-conference championship game) ranked any better than 17th, since we made the BCS title game in 2001. I don't think being in the "playoff conversation" is an unrealistic expectation, but making that jump into the playoff is going to be way tougher than you think.
 
At Nebraska, Volleyball better than football, WBB better than MBB, softball better than baseball, even bowling better than wrestling, though both are good. I find myself enjoying the women’s collegiate sports, and Husker success there, more and more. Women’s sports are also less affected by NIL, transfers, and related pay issues.
But if the women’s side can have this success, there is hope on the men’s side.
 
weaver75 said:
At Nebraska, Volleyball better than football, WBB better than MBB, softball better than baseball, even bowling better than wrestling, though both are good. I find myself enjoying the women’s collegiate sports, and Husker success there, more and more. Women’s sports are also less affected by NIL, transfers, and related pay issues.
But if the women’s side can have this success, there is hope on the men’s side.
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Women's sports are definitely gaining popularity, especially basketball and softball. Basketball is quickly gaining grown on men's, at the college level, as the level of play improves and notable names hang around longer. Top women's players can come in and make an impact as a freshman and often times are around 4+ years. Personally, I enjoy watching softball WS more than the college baseball WS.

Women's sports still have a long way to go before the bypass men's, but it is good that Nebraska is on the forefront of a lot of those sports.
 



treeplanter said:
With a 12 team playoff allowing for 2 and even 3 loss teams to get in on a yearly basis there is ABSOLUTELY no reason whatsoever not to expect the football program to be contending for national championships every season

Enough with the "this isn't the 1990s" and "this isn't the old Big 8" crap!
Click to expand...

Nebraska should be a top 20 team every year, which should put them in the conversation for making the playoffs every year. This is true. But to not admit that the landscape of college football has changed dramatically since 1995 is being disingenuous.

Things have changed. First and foremost there is a lot more money involved and because of that teams that there are a lot more teams that are investing a lot more into football than they used to. Which makes most teams a lot more competitive. It's not the old Big 8. Most years Nebraska had 4 gimme games in the old Big 8. There are no gimmes in the B1G.

This doesn't mean that Nebraska can't or shouldn't be a top 20 team every year, it just means it is harder.
 
Until proven otherwise, it would seem we need not just a good or great coach but a HOF-caliber coach to compete in men's football and basketball.

We always talk about how money/resources should translate into wins, but it isn't working out that way. Part of me wonders if it's a demographic issue. Population-wise, our peers are New Mexico, Idaho and West Virginia. Maybe sans an elite coach, that's just where we are.
 
Next year, if the House approves the settlement, schools are going to have to allot to each sport a percentage of the total revenue share.

Some schools are going to allot more to basketball, baseball as a part of their pie.

I would guess Dannen and the U put their focus in football. It is the cash cow that makes the rest possible.

As far as basketball, college coaches are wondering what is my piece of the pie to go get kids in. Good coaches aren't going to want to go in hamstrung. One thing going for Nebraska is PBA gets packed pretty regular it sounds like.

My focus would be on football and volleyball and keep them positioned for deep playoff runs and natty's.

We have good things going in other sports, so it will be interesting to see how NU splits their allotment
 


NUinID said:
Nebraska should be a top 20 team every year, which should put them in the conversation for making the playoffs every year. This is true. But to not admit that the landscape of college football has changed dramatically since 1995 is being disingenuous.

Things have changed. First and foremost there is a lot more money involved and because of that teams that there are a lot more teams that are investing a lot more into football than they used to. Which makes most teams a lot more competitive. It's not the old Big 8. Most years Nebraska had 4 gimme games in the old Big 8. There are no gimmes in the B1G.

This doesn't mean that Nebraska can't or shouldn't be a top 20 team every year, it just means it is harder.
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The margin for error is a lot smaller too. When Nebraska was in the Big XII, even in the later years, there were teams you were pretty much guaranteed to beat as long as you had an okay team (Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, etc.). 9 wins, which puts you in line to be a top 25 team, was a lot easier to come by. The current landscape of the B1G has very few games that are "easy wins". If you don't show up to play, it is very easy to lose a game to a Maryland, Rutgers, Northwestern, etc.

We should definitely be aiming for being in the top quarter of the conference, but with how competitive our league is it is far from a guarantee every year.
 
The Big Red Lebowski said:
Until proven otherwise, it would seem we need not just a good or great coach but a HOF-caliber coach to compete in men's football and basketball.

We always talk about how money/resources should translate into wins, but it isn't working out that way. Part of me wonders if it's a demographic issue. Population-wise, our peers are New Mexico, Idaho and West Virginia. Maybe sans an elite coach, that's just where we are.
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I wouldn't necessarily look at population/demographics as the basis for success, although I understand your point. It isn't like Alabama is a super populated state. The amount of money poured into a program like Nebraska should warrant a certain level of competency.

You are right, though, the coaching cog is the one that makes the rest work. It is very rare you see programs showing sustained success with someone who is a mediocre coach or are going through a lot of coaches. Take Florida, who should be set up about as well as anyone, but has struggled off and on for over a decade because they can't find the right coach.

A great coach is able to find and develop great players. Nebraska is a tough place to recruit to (although NIL I think helps sweeten things for some) and until you have us return to a consistently good program, things are going to be so-so. Success begats success.
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Nebraska's basketball issues I think are a more complex problem. Nebraska football at least has some history of success from which to build, albeit a generation ago. Basketball you are trying to create something out of nothing in a league that is generally one of the most competitive in the country. I'm not saying it can't happen, but the road is more difficult.
 

Cornhuskers7 said:
The margin for error is a lot smaller too. When Nebraska was in the Big XII, even in the later years, there were teams you were pretty much guaranteed to beat as long as you had an okay team (Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, etc.). 9 wins, which puts you in line to be a top 25 team, was a lot easier to come by. The current landscape of the B1G has very few games that are "easy wins". If you don't show up to play, it is very easy to lose a game to a Maryland, Rutgers, Northwestern, etc.

We should definitely be aiming for being in the top quarter of the conference, but with how competitive our league is it is far from a guarantee every year.
Click to expand...

Yes, the margin of error is much smaller. There is a lot more competition at every level.
 
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