Hey Bay Area Husker Fans!
Baseball season is just around the corner and do we have a great way to start! The Huskers are playing in a round robin tourney at the Stanford Sunken Diamond baseball facility this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (weather permitting). So grab your rain coat and come out and cheer on the Huskers (more info below).
Founders' Day Event...
We're looking forward to our annual Founders' Day event on Sunday at the Sunnyvale Ramada. I know the reservation deadline has past, but Mac may be able to add a couple of folks if you hustle up and call or email him tonight or early Friday morning. See the website www.BayAreaHuskers.org for more details.
Go Big Red (White and Blue),
Carl
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BAY AREA HUSKERS NIGHT AT THE SABRECATS!!!!
Our local Arena Football League team (last year's AFL National Champs), the San Jose Sabercats, is offering a great deal for local alumni groups to attend one of their games. We've selected the second game of the season on Saturday, March 22nd (vs. the Dallas Desperados) as the night for local Husker fans to get together for some great indoor football! Tickets are only $9 each (half price) and its a guaranteed great time! Karen and I have been season ticket holders for about 5 years and we think its the best sports deal in the area. Cheap tickets, a great venue and a very fast paced game...scores are usually in the 60s and 70s per team. So let me or Dave Pegg know that you want to attend and we'll arrange for a Husker group outing.
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HUSKERS HEAD TO STANFORD TO OPEN 2008 SEASON...
Nebraska at Stanford
Friday - 2 p.m. (DH)
Saturday - 2 p.m.
Sunday - 1 p.m.
All times Pacific
Pitching Probables
Friday (G-1)
NU-Thad Weber, Sr., RHP (0-0)
Jeremy Bleich, Jr., LHP (0-0)
Friday (G-2)
NU-Johnny Dorn, Sr., RHP (0-0)
Erik Davis, Sr., RHP (0-0)
Saturday
NU-Dan Jennings, Jr., LHP (0-0)
Max Fearnow, Jr., RHP (0-0)
Sunday
NU-Aaron Pribanic, Jr., RHP (0-0)
Jeffrey Inman, So., RHP (0-0)
Live Radio: Selected Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: Stanford All-Access (free)
Television: None
This Week: The Nebraska baseball program begins the 2008 season this weekend, as the Huskers travel to Stanford for a four-game series with the Cardinal. Friday’s season opener will be a doubleheader, scheduled for 2 p.m. (Pacific) with single games on both Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
On the Radio: Fans across Nebraska can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call all of the action on the 27-station Husker Sports Network - including flagship stations KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington - and on the Internet at Huskers.com. Every game this season will be carried on the Husker Sports Network. Saturday’s game will be joined in progress on selected network stations.
Preview: The Huskers open this week with a with a trip to national power Stanford to kick off the 2008 season. The Huskers return 13 letterwinners, including six everyday starters from a team that went 32-27 and reached the finals of the NCAA Tempe Regional last season. Offensively, senior Jeff Tezak is NU’s top returning hitter after batting .335 with three homers and 37 RBIs to earn second-team All-Big 12 honors. Tezak is one of three starters who hit over .300 a year ago, joining senior infielder Craig Corriston (.320-5-41) and sophomore right fielder DJ Belfonte (.307-0-16). Senior second baseman Jake Opitz drove in a team-high 48 RBIs, while ranking first on the squad in triples (three) and second in homers (five).
On the mound, Nebraska has a new pitching coach - Eric Newman, formerly the head coach at Dallas Baptist - and a youthful staff, as eight pitchers off the 2007 staff were plucked in last June’s draft. Senior right-hander Johnny Dorn anchors the NU hurlers, after going 10-3 in 16 starts a year ago, highlighted by a complete-game win with 12 strikeouts against UC Riverside in the NCAA Regional. He is the only starter back from Nebraska’s weekend rotation.
Leading Off
•-Nebraska is 5-0 in season openers under Head Coach Mike Anderson and has won its last six season openers, dating back to a 13-inning victory over New Mexico in 2002.
•-Nebraska’s trip to Stanford marks the Huskers’ first-ever season-opening trip to California. Under Mike Anderson, the Huskers have begun seasons in five states (Texas, New Mexico, Hawaii, South Carolina and California) over the last six years.
•-Thad Weber’s start on Friday will mark the first time since 2002 that a right-hander has started the season opener. In fact, Nebraska has started a southpaw in seven of the previous eight seasons.
•-Of the 31 players on this weekend’s travel roster, 19 could see their first action as Huskers, including nine true freshmen and four redshirt freshmen. With that many freshmen on the travel roster, there is a strong possibility that NU could have more than one freshman in the opening day lineup for the first time since 1999. Under Mike Anderson, three true freshmen have started the season opener, most recently DJ Belfonte in 2007.
•-Since the NCAA went to the 64-team format in 1999, Nebraska has made eight tournament appearances, which ties for eighth nationally. The only teams to make more appearances tham Nebraska in that span are Cal State Fullerton, Clemson, Florida State, Miami (Fla.), Oral Roberts, Rice and Texas.
•-Nebraska has won 86 straight games when taking a lead into the ninth inning dating back to the 2005 campaign, and is 183-3 (.984) when leading after eight innings since the start of the 2003 season.
•-Nebraska’s trip to Stanford this weekend is the first time the Huskers have visted a Pac-10 school during the regular season since a two-game series at Arizona State in 1987.
•-This weekend’s trip to Stanford is a homecoming for pitcher Joe Hatasaki, who is from Mountain View, Calif. Hatasaki joined the program in January after pitching as a true freshman at Arizona State.
Enjoying the Great Indoors
The Huskers have a case of cabin fever they will hope to shake this weekend. Nebraska has been exclusively indoors since opening practice on Feb. 1 - a total of 17 workouts, including Wednesday. The Huskers will travel to California on Thursday morning and are scheduled to practice outdoors for the first time Thursday afternoon.
For the past two years, the Huskers have been able to work out in the Hawks Championship Center, an 81,200-square foot facility which was completed in 2006. The building, which is connected to Memorial Stadium by an indoor skywalk, includes room for a full football field and a championship wing that includes hitting cages for the baseball and softball programs.
The 2008 season will mark the third time in six years the Huskers have not gotten outdoors before departing Lincoln. The good news is that NU is a combined 6-1 on the opening weekend in those instances, including a 3-1 record last year.
Scouting Stanford
Under the guidance of long-time head coach Mark Marquess, Stanford has been among the nation’s most consistent programs. The Cardinal have reached the College World Series 13 times in his 31 years at Stanford, including five straight appearances in Omaha earlier this decade, and national titles in 1987 and 1988. In 2007, Stanford missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years, but closed the campaign by winning nine of its last 10 games to post a 28-28 mark.
For the Cardinal, the bulk of their roster is back, as the 2008 Stanford squad features 22 letterwinners, including 14 pitchers and seven everyday starters. Outfielder Sean Ratliff returns to pace the Cardinal offense, hitting .339 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs a year ago. He is one of three Stanford players in Baseball America’s top-100 draft prospects for 2008, joining pitcher Jeremy Bleich and utility player Jason Castro. On the mound, Stanford brings back 14 of its 15 pitchers who threw last year, although none of the returnees had more than four wins last season.
Series History: Stanford leads the series, 4-1, and has won the last two meetings. This weekend’s series will mark the first time the two teams have met in the regular season since 1993.
Huskers Tabbed for Sixth in Big 12
The Nebraska baseball team was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 by a vote of the league coaches released on Feb. 20. The Huskers, coming off a season where they went 32-27 and reached the finals of the NCAA Tempe Regional, totaled 36 points in voting.
Nebraska returns six everyday starters, including All-Big 12 designated hitter Jeff Tezak, who hit a team-high .336 last season. Other returning starters include catcher Mitch Abeita, second baseman Jake Opitz, third baseman Craig Corriston and outfielders Bryce Nimmo and DJ Belfonte. The Husker pitching staff is led by senior All-American right-hander Johnny Dorn, who has compiled a 31-9 record during his Husker career.
Texas was the choice of the league’s coaches, garnering 80 points in the preseason voting and eight of the 10 first-pace votes. Missouri (71) and Baylor (65) received the other two votes, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. The rest of the order was Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Tech.
Huskers to Be Tested Again in 2008
An impressive home schedule, 27 games against NCAA Tournament teams and a season-opening trip to national power Stanford highlight the 2008 Nebraska baseball schedule. The Huskers will be tested against a slate that features five teams – Arkansas, Texas, Wichita State, Texas A&M and Missouri – which were No. 1 seeds in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
The 55-game regular-season schedule includes 32 home games, including a four-game series with NCAA qualifier UC Riverside to open the home schedule on Feb. 29. Other marquee non-conference tilts include a two-game series with SEC power Arkansas (March 18-19), a three-game series against Louisiana-Lafayette (May 2-4) and single games against Wichita State (April 15) and Creighton (April 22).
In 2007, the Huskers’ strength of schedule ranked sixth nationally, as Nebraska played 29 of its 59 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament.
Chart Climbing
•-Head Coach Mike Anderson enters the 2008 opener needing one win to move into sole possession of third place on Nebraska’s all-time wins list.
•-Anderson also begins the season in 10th place in winning percentage among all active coaches. He joins Texas’ Augie Garrido as the only two Big 12 coaches among the top-10 nationally in winning percentage.
•-Johnny Dorn begins the 2008 season within striking distance of a couple of milestones. He is already in second place on Nebraska’s career wins list with 31, a total that leads all returning pitchers nationally.
•-Jake Opitz is quickly climbing Nebraska’s career list for assists. A three-year starter at second base, Opitz begins his senior year in sixth place and needs only 35 assists to climb into fifth place.
•-Bryce Nimmo looks to become just the second Husker to lead Nebraska in stolen bases for three straight years, joining former Major Leaguer Ken Ramos, who paced NU in stolen bases from 1987 to 1989.
Dorn Climbs Husker Win List
With his win against UC Riverside in his final start of 2007, Johnny Dorn moved into sole possession of second place on NU’s career wins chart with 31. The right-hander from Grand Island also moved on to the Huskers’ top-10 lists in both career strikeouts and innings pitched to begin his senior year.
Of Dorn’s 31 career wins, 10 have been in Big 12 series clinchers over the past three seasons. He has had 14 chances to win a conference series in his career, and has won 10 of them, including five as a freshman when he went 12-2 en route to All-America honors.
The Coaching Staff
Nebraska shuffled its coaching staff in the offseason, adding pitching coach Eric Newman, while shifting Dave Bingham over to handle the Huskers’ defensive efforts. The three full-time coaches on the Nebraska staff have combined for over 1,100 wins.
Dave Bingham - Serves as the Huskers’ defensive coordinator, overseeing team defense and working with the Husker infielders. Bingham served as an assistant to Stanford Head Coach Mark Marquess on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team. The pair also assisted on the 1984 U.S. Olympic staff.
Eric Newman - Begins his first season as Nebraska’s pitching coach after serving as the head coach at Dallas Baptist the past three seasons. Newman, who compiled a 95-72 record at DBU, is a California native who pitched collegiately at both Fresno State and Texas Tech.
Nate Thompson - Begins his first season as Nebraska’s volunteer coach and works primarily with the infielders and assists with the hitters. Thompson comes to NU after serving as an assistant coach at Fort Hays State in 2007. He played for Coach Newman at Dallas Baptist and was a student assistant at the school in 2006.
Husker Baseball: Giving Back
The Husker baseball program has been active in the community during the 2007-08 academic year. Starting with the Paint-a-thon in August, the Nebraska baseball team has done over 400 hours in community service projects this year.
•-During the Christmas break, players and coaches combined for over 250 hours of community service projects, working with various groups in their hometowns. Some of the projects included working with local law enforcement in translating languages, cleaning community centers and raising money for Food Banks.
•-On Jan. 25, 2008, the Nebraska baseball program hosted Baseball 101, a day of actitives to help fans learn more about the sport. The one-day clinic had over 100 participants and raised over $10,000 for a literacy center in Lincoln.
Six Draftees on 2008 Husker Roster
Nebraska’s 2008 roster boasts a total of six Huskers who have been previously selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Four of the players were picked in last year’s draft, including Thad Weber, who was chosen in the 35th round, but elected to return for his senior year.
Huskers Feature Players from 12 States
The 34 members of the 2008 roster hail from 12 states from coast to coast. There are a total of 12 players from Nebraska on the roster, including six from the Omaha metro area and two from Lincoln.
Husker Baseball on Television
The Husker baseball program will make at least eight appearances on television during the 2008 season. The broadcast schedule featured five games produced by Nebraska Educational Television (NET and NET-HD) as well as nationally televised games as part of the Big 12’s television package. Nebraska’s first TV appearance of the year will be on Saturday, March 29, as the Huskers head to Austin, Texas, for a contest against the Longhorns.
Husker Home Run Club Bus Trips
Make your plans now to join the Husker Home Run Club for a pair of bus trips during the season. The first bus trip takes place on April 12-13, for a trek to Oklahoma State, with the second one on May 17-18 for the Huskers’ regular-season finale at Missouri. Both packages include roundtrip transportation, selected meals, a hotel room and tickets to both of Nebraska’s games that weekend.
For more information and prices, contact Ed Bolejack at (402) 476-4990 or Erich Helge at (402) 643-5403 or visit Huskerhomerunclub.com.
Making the Grade by Baseball AmericaAs part of Baseball America’s preview, the publication graded the schools in the top eight conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac-10, Big Ten, Big East, Big West and C-USA) in four areas - national impact, competitiveness, fans and facilities and academics - during the 64-team NCAA era.
Nebraska was one of 16 programs to receive an A from the publication and joined Texas as the only two Big 12 programs to receive an A. As a conference, the Big 12 tied the ACC for second place in that era.
Single-Game Tickets Now on Sale
Single-game general admission tickets for Husker baseball home games are now on sale. General admission tickets for all regular-season home games this season are $7 for adults and $5 for youth in high school or younger or for senior citizens ages 60 or older. General admission tickets are free for children ages six and younger along with UNL students (with a valid student ID).
The 2008 schedule includes Big 12 home series against Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas and Texas A&M, as well as non-conference series against Louisiana-Lafayette, UC Riverside and Northern Colorado. Other single-games on the schedule include matchups with NCAA qualifiers Creighton and Wichita State, as well as contests against Nebraska-Kearney and Western Illinois.
16 Huskers Named to Big 12 Honor Roll
A total of 16 current or former Husker baseball players were named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll last week. The group is led by Bryce Nimmo and Nick Sullivan, both of whom made their seventh consecutive appearances on the honor roll. As a team, the Huskers recorded a 2.95 team GPA during the fall semester, their best performance in Mike Anderson’s six years as head coach at NU The 16 Husker baseball players were among the 298 athletes across all sports to earn spots on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll during the 2007 fall semester.
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HUSKER BASKETBALL TEAM UPSETS NO. 24 WILDCATS...
Aleks Maric finished with 15 points and a season-high 17 rebounds in posting his seventh double-double in a row.
Lincoln – Aleks Maric collected his seventh straight double-double and Steve Harley scored a career-high 20 points to lead Nebraska past 24th-ranked Kansas State, 71-64 in front of nearly 10,000 fans Wednesday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Maric hit 5-of-8 shots from the field on his way to 15 points, but his two biggest shots of the game came at the free-throw line, where Maric calmly sank both ends of a 1-and-1 to give Nebraska a 68-64 lead with 32.1 seconds remaining. Harley, who drilled 9-of-12 from the field, also added a pair of late free throws that accounted for the final margin.
To go along with his 15 points, Maric also pulled down a season-high 17 rebounds as he dueled against another of the top big men in the country in Kansas State's Michael Beasley. Beasley also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but he took seven more shots than Maric.
With the win, Nebraska's second over a ranked squad this season, the Huskers improved to 15-9 on the season and 4-7 in the Big 12 Conference. K-State, which entered the game one-half game out of first place in the league, fell to 18-7 and 8-3.
The Huskers shot a blistering 56.5 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 51.9 percent for the game, the second-best mark of the season and easily Nebraska's best shooting performance in conference play. NU also knocked down 13-of-17 from the charity stripe, including 6-of-8 down the stretch, a key stat considering Nebraska went the final 5:08 without hitting a field goal.
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WOMENS BASKETBALL...FREE THROWS COST HUSKERS AT KANSAS...
Kelsey Griffin scored points and had seven rebounds at Kansas on Sunday.
Lawrence, Kan. - Nebraska overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to take a three-point lead with 2:47 left, but Kansas rallied for a 62-61 win on a Danielle McCray free throw with 1.4 seconds left at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Huskers, who slipped to 17-8 overall and 6-5 in the Big 12, hit just 17-of-34 free throws in the game, while the Jayhawks converted 10-of-13 free throw attempts, including an intentional miss by McCray to end the game. The Jayhawks improved to 15-9 overall and 4-7 in the league.
Kelsey Grffin led the Huskers with 13 points and seven rebounds, despite playing just 24 minutes because of first-half foul trouble. Yvonne Turner added 11 points in just 20 minutes, after also being strapped with two early fouls in the game. Cory Montgomery added eight points and five rebounds, despite picking up three first-half fouls.
Nebraska, which entered the game leading the Big 12 in free throw shooting in conference play and hit 30-of-32 free throws in a 71-51 win over the Jayhawks in Lincoln on Jan. 12, struggled at the line for the first 34 minutes. NU hit just 9-of-24 free throws before hitting 8-of-10 in the final six minutes.
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HUSKER SOFTBALL TEAM HEADS TO KENTUCKY THIS WEEKEND...
Darcy Rutherford led NU with a .333 average last weekend while hitting second in the order.
The Nebraska softball team ventures into the Bluegrass State for the first time in the 33-year history of the program this weekend, as the Huskers travel to Louisville, Ky., for a revised Cardinal Classic.
Originally scheduled as a four-team, round-robin format tournament, the schedule has been altered and will feature only Nebraska and Mississippi, along with host Louisville. Northern Illinois was also scheduled to compete, but the Huskies will instead stay home as part of a campus-wide "Week of Healing" to help the university community deal with the tragic shooting that claimed the lives of five people on Feb. 14.
Forecasted bad weather also forced the cancellation of Friday’s games, as the revamped schedule has Nebraska playing both Louisville and Ole Miss on both Saturday and Sunday for a total of four games on the weekend. Live stats will be available for all games this weekend, while live, pay video will be available when the Huskers play Louisville through uoflsports.com.
NU hopes its first trip to Kentucky brings better results than last weekend, when the Huskers finished with a 1-4 record. Despite the record, a young and injured Nebraska squad was able to take some positives from a grueling schedule that included two games against teams ranked in the top six of the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll.
Nebraska opened the tournament with a 6-1 loss to traditional power Cal, although the Huskers were down just 2-1 before the Bears pulled away late. Nebraska then used three early runs and a clutch pinch-hit, two-run single from junior Amanda Duran to post a 5-3 victory over Idaho State. Freshman right-hander Tori Tyson earned the victory in her first career start, while sophomore right-hander Alex Hupp picked up her first career save.
The next day would prove more difficult for the Huskers, as they were run-ruled for the first time in 235 games in a 9-0 loss at fifth-ranked Arizona State. Nebraska then fell behind early in a 7-3 loss to Memphis before rebounding with a terrific effort against unbeaten and sixth-ranked Northwestern on Sunday.
Against the Wildcats, Tyson had a solid outing, allowing just three earned runs against a team that entered the game averaging 10 runs per game. The Husker offense also began to find its stride, as juniors Crystal Carwile and Haley Long hit a pair of two-run homers in the seventh inning to erase a 4-2 deficit and put Nebraska in front 6-4.
Northwestern immediately rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to earn an 8-6 victory, but NU’s effort in that contest showed glimpses of the Huskers’ potential.
Nebraska was without two players last weekend, while junior Brittany Pascale saw limited duty while continuing to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. The Huskers get ace right-hander Molly Hill back in a limited capacity this weekend and sophomore infielder Whitney Barrett is nearing her return as well.
Visit our Bay Area Huskers website for additional Husker information, Links, Upcoming Events, Past Events, Watch Sites, and the Schedule of Games. Also order Merchandise online, and get information on Husker Scholarships. Check out the History of the Huskers and meet our Directors.
Say hello today, email us, sign up for our newsletter, and become a member of the Bay Area Huskers Alumni Chapter.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Bay Area Husker ENews 2-5-08
Hey Bay Area Husker Fans!
Sorry about the gap in coverage, but here's some good stuff from the homeland including notice of a special event tomorrow (Wednesday) when Huskers.com will provide live coverage of the Huskers Signing Day.
The Husker Round Ball teams are also playing big games tomorrow night (see info below).
Enjoy!
Go Big Red (White and Blue),
Carl
P.S. Don't forget to sign up for our chapter Founders' Day event on Sunday February 24th. See http://www.bayareahuskers.org/ for more details and the registration form.
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LIVE SIGNING DAY COVERAGE...
Gearing up for National Signing Day on Wednesday, Feb. 6, Huskers.com will provide free, live video and audio of Head Coach Bo Pelini's 12 p.m. (Pacific time) press conference to announce his first signing class. Below is a schedule of what to expect on Signing Day.
Prior to Signing Day Press Conference
Tables below will be updated with the list & biographies of all players whose Letters of Intent were received by Noon.
Signing Day Press Conference
Watch the press conference LIVE
Listen to the press conference LIVE
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ESPN Early Top 25 Ranking...(nope, the Huskers aren't on the list...YET!)...
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3186264
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RESERVED TICKETS FOR THE SPRING GAME AVAILABLE TOMORROW...
The University of Nebraska has announced that tickets to the April 19 Red-White Spring Football Game will go on sale on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 6 a.m. (Pacific Time) Tickets will be available at Huskers.com and can also be purchased by contacting the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-8BIG RED. Kickoff for the Red-White Spring Game has been set for 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
This season, in a change from recent years, reserved tickets for the spring game will be available. Approximately 25,000 reserved seats in the East and West Stadiums will be available at a cost of $10 per ticket.
In addition to the reserved tickets, fans may also purchase general admission tickets at the cost of $8 for adults and $4 for youth (high school age and younger) and seniors. Children under age six, as well as UNL students, faculty and staff (with ID) will be admitted for free. Children (junior high or younger) wishing to take the Drug Free Pledge at halftime will also be admitted for free. General admission seating will be in the North and South stadiums.
All fans wishing to attend the Red-White game are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance to avoid long lines at ticket booths and will-call windows on game day. Nebraska has averaged nearly 60,000 fans for its spring game over the past four seasons and Memorial Stadium will be at full capacity (81,067) for this year’s Red-White contest.
Nebraska Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations Jeff Jamrog said the goal is to better the record 63,417 fans that attended the 2005 game.
“Nebraska is known nationally for its tradition of selling out football games and I know Coach Pelini wants that to include the spring game,” Jamrog said. “Hopefully, our fans will take the chance to spend a great day in Lincoln and get a preview of their 2008 Huskers.”
In addition to expecting a large crowd in the stadium, Nebraska will also be hosting its Junior Day in conjunction with the spring game with prospects from around the country expected to be on campus.
The Nebraska baseball team will also be in town on April 19, playing host Kansas at Hawks Field later in the afternoon. Information on additional events surrounding the Red-White Spring Game will be announced in the coming weeks on Huskers.com.
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DOBSON NAMED NEBRASKA HEAD FOOTBALL STRENGTH COACH...
Nebraska Football Coach Bo Pelini announced Tuesday that James Dobson has been hired as the Huskers’ Head Football Strength Coach. Dobson is regarded as one of the top young strength coaches in the country after spending the past nine years as an assistant strength coach at the University of Iowa.
Dobson will oversee all aspects of the Huskers’ strength and conditioning efforts for football, including the winter conditioning program, summer workouts and in-season strength training. Nebraska will begin its winter conditioning program under Dobson’s direction on Jan. 21.
Dobson has been a part of the Hawkeye football program during one of the most successful periods in school history. Iowa appeared in bowl games in six of the past seven seasons and won 38 games from 2002 to 2005. Iowa won 25 Big Ten games in that same period, including Big Ten titles in both 2002 and 2004.
With the Hawkeye program, Dobson worked under Chris Doyle, who is regarded as one of the nation’s top strength coaches. Top pupils Dobson has worked with include safety Bob Sanders, tight end Dallas Clark, offensive tackle Robert Gallery and linebacker Chad Greenway.
Sanders earned All-America honors at Iowa in 2003, and was the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Indianapolis Colts. Clark began his Hawkeye career as a walk-on linebacker, but moved to tight end and went on to earn All-America honors in 2002, before being a first-round draft pick. Gallery came to Iowa as a 240-pound tight end, and through the strength program, he left as a 320-pound offensive tackle, won the 2003 Outland Trophy and was the second overall selection in the 2004 draft. Greenway earned All-America honors as a senior in 2005, and was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2006.
In addition to his experience at Iowa, Dobson worked for two years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Southern Methodist, working with the football, volleyball and basketball teams.
Dobson attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he worked as a student assistant with the Badger football team for three seasons. He earned his B.S. degree in kinesiology from Wisconsin in 1996, and his masters of science and administration degree from Central Michigan in 2004.
A certified strength and conditioning specialist and a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Dobson is a native of Mt. Horeb, Wis. He and his wife, Rebecca, have a son, Colton, and a daughter, Elise.
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BECK NAMES HUSKER RUNNING BACKS COACH...
Nebraska Head Football Coach Bo Pelini has announced that Tim Beck will serve as the Huskers’ running backs coach. Beck joined the Huskers on Monday after completing his third season as an assistant coach at Kansas in the Orange Bowl last Thursday.
Beck is the final full-time assistant to be named to the Nebraska staff, as Pelini announced the other eight members of his coaching staff in mid-December. Like the other members of Nebraska’s new staff, Beck has prior experience coaching in the Big 12 Conference.
Beck helped Kansas to its best season in school history with a 12-1 record in 2007, capped by a 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl. In each of his three seasons on Mark Mangino’s staff, Beck served as the Jayhawks’ receivers coach, and he added the title of pass game coordinator in 2007.
In 2007, Beck helped engineer one of the nation’s most potent offenses as Kansas ranked second nationally in scoring offense (42.8 ppg), eighth in total offense (479.8 ypg) and 17th in passing offense (291.0 ypg). KU senior receiver Marcus Henry caught 54 passes for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns to earn All-Big 12 honors, while three other Jayhawks caught more than 40 passes each.
Before joining the Kansas staff, Beck was one of the most respected high school coaches in the state of Texas, serving three seasons at Summit High in Mansfield. He was the 2003 District Coach of the Year after leading Summit to its first-ever playoff appearance and district championship. Beck also served as the head coach at R.L. Turner High in Carrollton, Texas, from 1999 to 2001.
He also had a successful run as the head coach at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., from 1993 to 1995. Among the standouts Beck coached at Saguaro High was former Nebraska All-America safety Mike Brown.
In addition to Kansas, Beck’s collegiate experience includes three seasons at Missouri State (1996-98), two seasons as a graduate assistant at Kansas State (1991-92) and one season at Illinois State (1990).
Beck is a native of Youngstown, Ohio, and graduated from Cardinal Mooney High, the same high school that Bo and Carl Pelini attended. Beck played college football at Central Florida.
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HUSKER BASKETBALL TEAM HEADS TO MANHATTAN TO FACE RANKED WILDCATS...
+ Game Information
Game: Game 20
Game Time: 7:07 p.m. CST
Game Date: Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008
Release Date: Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008
Television: FSN Midwest/ESPN FullCourt (Greg Sharpe, play-by-play; Matt Davison, color)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Kent Pavelka, play-by-play; Andy Markowski, color)
Internet: Huskers.com (live radio, stats)
Satellite Radio: Kansas State broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 125
Venue: Bramlage Coliseum (12,528)
+ Nebraska Takes on Wildcats in Manhattan
The Nebraska men's basketball team will make its third road trip in 12 days as it travels to Manhattan, Kan., to take on No. 20/24 (AP/Coaches) Kansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 6. Aiming for their second straight Big 12 Conference road victory after defeating Missouri in Columbia, Mo., last week, the Cornhuskers will tip off against the Wildcats at 7:07 p.m. on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
The mid-week contest will be telecast on FSN Midwest with Greg Sharpe calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The NU telecast will be distributed only in the state of Nebraska, per Big 12 Conference rules. KSU's telecast will also air on FSN Midwest in the state of Kansas. A new agreement this year will allow Nebraska's telecasts on FSN Midwest to also be seen around the nation on ESPN FullCourt. Check listings for the channel assignment on FSN Midwest and ESPN FullCourt.
The Nebraska-Iowa State contest can be heard live on the radio on the Husker Sports Network, consisting of 30 stations around Nebraska and Iowa that provide coverage of Nebraska athletic events. Veteran play-by-play man Kent Pavelka will call the action while former Husker Andy Markowski adds color commentary. The broadcast will be carried around the world live on the Internet on Huskers.com.
NU men's basketball games can typically also be heard on satellite radio. This week, however, Kansas State's broadcast will be the only one heard on Sirius Satellite Radio on channel 125.
Nebraska will be looking for its third straight win in conference action. With a victory, the Huskers would pull within a game of .500 in the league standings after starting the season 0-4, including a pair of losses to top-5 Kansas. The last time the Huskers won three straight games in league play was 2005-06 with victories over Missouri, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
The Huskers will also be searching for their second straight road win after defeating Missouri last week in Columbia, Mo., by a 66-62 margin. Nebraska won consecutive road games last year with victories over Missouri and Texas Tech, the first time since posting victories at Colorado and No. 24 Kansas in 1999.
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HUSKER LADIES TIP OFF BIG 12 SECOND HALF AT COLORADO...
Senior forward Danielle Page leads the Huskers to her home state of Colorado to battle the Buffaloes on Wednesday at 9 p.m.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (16-6, 5-3)
at Colorado Buffaloes (13-8, 2-6)
Coors Events Center (11,064) • Boulder, Colo.
Wednesday, Feb. 6 • 9 p.m. CST
Television: FSN Rocky Mountain
(DirecTV Ch. 645, DISH Ch. 414, Time Warner Cable Ch. 302)
Radio: Husker Sports Network
(98.1 FM-KFGE, Lincoln, 1110 AM-KFAB)
Live Internet Audio: Huskers.com (free)
Huskers Tip Off Second Half of Big 12 Season at Colorado
The Nebraska women’s basketball team starts the second half of the Big 12 Conference season by traveling to Boulder to take on Colorado on Wednesday night. Tip-off with the Buffaloes at the Coors Events Center is scheduled for 9 p.m., with live television coverage provided by FSN Rocky Mountain. The game can be seen on DirecTV Ch. 645 and DISH Network Channel 414 along with Time Warner Cable Channel 302 in Lincoln. Live radio coverage on the Husker Sports Network will provided by 98.1 FM-KFGE in Lincoln and 1110 AM-KFAB in Omaha. KFAB will join the game in progress following the conclusion of the Husker men’s game at Kansas State.
The Huskers head to Colorado after a thrilling 73-67 comeback win at Missouri on Sunday. Nebraska trailed by 14 points with 8:30 left and by 10 points with 5:30 remaining before storming to the six-point win. Junior Kelsey Griffin scored 17 of her season-high 23 points in the second half to lead the Husker comeback, including 15 points in the final 12 minutes. The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, averaged 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game last week to earn Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors on Feb. 4. Griffin leads the Huskers in Big 12 play with 15.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game despite playing with a cracked rib.
Nebraska’s late-game turnaround at Missouri was nearly astonishing. The Huskers hit just 12-of-42 shots to open the game, before hitting 12 of their final 13 shots from the field to close the contest. NU scored on 19 of its 20 possessions to close the game, scoring 39 points in the final 12 minutes, after managing just 34 points in the first 28 minutes.
Sophomore guard Yvonne Turner played a big role in the NU turnaround at Missouri, scoring all nine of her points in the second half, including eight in the final 4:09. Turner has led Nebraska defensively on the perimeter throughout the season, leading the Big 12 in conference play with 2.88 steals per game.
Senior forward Danielle Page is also enjoying her best season at Nebraska. The 6-2 native of Monument, Colo., is averaging 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. She owns 55 blocks on the year and needs just five more to become the first player in NU history to record 60 or more blocks twice in her career.
Nebraska Nuggets: Team Notes
Sorry about the gap in coverage, but here's some good stuff from the homeland including notice of a special event tomorrow (Wednesday) when Huskers.com will provide live coverage of the Huskers Signing Day.
The Husker Round Ball teams are also playing big games tomorrow night (see info below).
Enjoy!
Go Big Red (White and Blue),
Carl
P.S. Don't forget to sign up for our chapter Founders' Day event on Sunday February 24th. See http://www.bayareahuskers.org/ for more details and the registration form.
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LIVE SIGNING DAY COVERAGE...
Gearing up for National Signing Day on Wednesday, Feb. 6, Huskers.com will provide free, live video and audio of Head Coach Bo Pelini's 12 p.m. (Pacific time) press conference to announce his first signing class. Below is a schedule of what to expect on Signing Day.
Prior to Signing Day Press Conference
Tables below will be updated with the list & biographies of all players whose Letters of Intent were received by Noon.
Signing Day Press Conference
Watch the press conference LIVE
Listen to the press conference LIVE
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ESPN Early Top 25 Ranking...(nope, the Huskers aren't on the list...YET!)...
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=3186264
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RESERVED TICKETS FOR THE SPRING GAME AVAILABLE TOMORROW...
The University of Nebraska has announced that tickets to the April 19 Red-White Spring Football Game will go on sale on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 6 a.m. (Pacific Time) Tickets will be available at Huskers.com and can also be purchased by contacting the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-8BIG RED. Kickoff for the Red-White Spring Game has been set for 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
This season, in a change from recent years, reserved tickets for the spring game will be available. Approximately 25,000 reserved seats in the East and West Stadiums will be available at a cost of $10 per ticket.
In addition to the reserved tickets, fans may also purchase general admission tickets at the cost of $8 for adults and $4 for youth (high school age and younger) and seniors. Children under age six, as well as UNL students, faculty and staff (with ID) will be admitted for free. Children (junior high or younger) wishing to take the Drug Free Pledge at halftime will also be admitted for free. General admission seating will be in the North and South stadiums.
All fans wishing to attend the Red-White game are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance to avoid long lines at ticket booths and will-call windows on game day. Nebraska has averaged nearly 60,000 fans for its spring game over the past four seasons and Memorial Stadium will be at full capacity (81,067) for this year’s Red-White contest.
Nebraska Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations Jeff Jamrog said the goal is to better the record 63,417 fans that attended the 2005 game.
“Nebraska is known nationally for its tradition of selling out football games and I know Coach Pelini wants that to include the spring game,” Jamrog said. “Hopefully, our fans will take the chance to spend a great day in Lincoln and get a preview of their 2008 Huskers.”
In addition to expecting a large crowd in the stadium, Nebraska will also be hosting its Junior Day in conjunction with the spring game with prospects from around the country expected to be on campus.
The Nebraska baseball team will also be in town on April 19, playing host Kansas at Hawks Field later in the afternoon. Information on additional events surrounding the Red-White Spring Game will be announced in the coming weeks on Huskers.com.
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DOBSON NAMED NEBRASKA HEAD FOOTBALL STRENGTH COACH...
Nebraska Football Coach Bo Pelini announced Tuesday that James Dobson has been hired as the Huskers’ Head Football Strength Coach. Dobson is regarded as one of the top young strength coaches in the country after spending the past nine years as an assistant strength coach at the University of Iowa.
Dobson will oversee all aspects of the Huskers’ strength and conditioning efforts for football, including the winter conditioning program, summer workouts and in-season strength training. Nebraska will begin its winter conditioning program under Dobson’s direction on Jan. 21.
Dobson has been a part of the Hawkeye football program during one of the most successful periods in school history. Iowa appeared in bowl games in six of the past seven seasons and won 38 games from 2002 to 2005. Iowa won 25 Big Ten games in that same period, including Big Ten titles in both 2002 and 2004.
With the Hawkeye program, Dobson worked under Chris Doyle, who is regarded as one of the nation’s top strength coaches. Top pupils Dobson has worked with include safety Bob Sanders, tight end Dallas Clark, offensive tackle Robert Gallery and linebacker Chad Greenway.
Sanders earned All-America honors at Iowa in 2003, and was the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Indianapolis Colts. Clark began his Hawkeye career as a walk-on linebacker, but moved to tight end and went on to earn All-America honors in 2002, before being a first-round draft pick. Gallery came to Iowa as a 240-pound tight end, and through the strength program, he left as a 320-pound offensive tackle, won the 2003 Outland Trophy and was the second overall selection in the 2004 draft. Greenway earned All-America honors as a senior in 2005, and was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2006.
In addition to his experience at Iowa, Dobson worked for two years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Southern Methodist, working with the football, volleyball and basketball teams.
Dobson attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he worked as a student assistant with the Badger football team for three seasons. He earned his B.S. degree in kinesiology from Wisconsin in 1996, and his masters of science and administration degree from Central Michigan in 2004.
A certified strength and conditioning specialist and a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Dobson is a native of Mt. Horeb, Wis. He and his wife, Rebecca, have a son, Colton, and a daughter, Elise.
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BECK NAMES HUSKER RUNNING BACKS COACH...
Nebraska Head Football Coach Bo Pelini has announced that Tim Beck will serve as the Huskers’ running backs coach. Beck joined the Huskers on Monday after completing his third season as an assistant coach at Kansas in the Orange Bowl last Thursday.
Beck is the final full-time assistant to be named to the Nebraska staff, as Pelini announced the other eight members of his coaching staff in mid-December. Like the other members of Nebraska’s new staff, Beck has prior experience coaching in the Big 12 Conference.
Beck helped Kansas to its best season in school history with a 12-1 record in 2007, capped by a 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl. In each of his three seasons on Mark Mangino’s staff, Beck served as the Jayhawks’ receivers coach, and he added the title of pass game coordinator in 2007.
In 2007, Beck helped engineer one of the nation’s most potent offenses as Kansas ranked second nationally in scoring offense (42.8 ppg), eighth in total offense (479.8 ypg) and 17th in passing offense (291.0 ypg). KU senior receiver Marcus Henry caught 54 passes for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns to earn All-Big 12 honors, while three other Jayhawks caught more than 40 passes each.
Before joining the Kansas staff, Beck was one of the most respected high school coaches in the state of Texas, serving three seasons at Summit High in Mansfield. He was the 2003 District Coach of the Year after leading Summit to its first-ever playoff appearance and district championship. Beck also served as the head coach at R.L. Turner High in Carrollton, Texas, from 1999 to 2001.
He also had a successful run as the head coach at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., from 1993 to 1995. Among the standouts Beck coached at Saguaro High was former Nebraska All-America safety Mike Brown.
In addition to Kansas, Beck’s collegiate experience includes three seasons at Missouri State (1996-98), two seasons as a graduate assistant at Kansas State (1991-92) and one season at Illinois State (1990).
Beck is a native of Youngstown, Ohio, and graduated from Cardinal Mooney High, the same high school that Bo and Carl Pelini attended. Beck played college football at Central Florida.
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HUSKER BASKETBALL TEAM HEADS TO MANHATTAN TO FACE RANKED WILDCATS...
+ Game Information
Game: Game 20
Game Time: 7:07 p.m. CST
Game Date: Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008
Release Date: Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008
Television: FSN Midwest/ESPN FullCourt (Greg Sharpe, play-by-play; Matt Davison, color)
Radio: Husker Sports Network (Kent Pavelka, play-by-play; Andy Markowski, color)
Internet: Huskers.com (live radio, stats)
Satellite Radio: Kansas State broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 125
Venue: Bramlage Coliseum (12,528)
+ Nebraska Takes on Wildcats in Manhattan
The Nebraska men's basketball team will make its third road trip in 12 days as it travels to Manhattan, Kan., to take on No. 20/24 (AP/Coaches) Kansas State on Wednesday, Feb. 6. Aiming for their second straight Big 12 Conference road victory after defeating Missouri in Columbia, Mo., last week, the Cornhuskers will tip off against the Wildcats at 7:07 p.m. on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
The mid-week contest will be telecast on FSN Midwest with Greg Sharpe calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The NU telecast will be distributed only in the state of Nebraska, per Big 12 Conference rules. KSU's telecast will also air on FSN Midwest in the state of Kansas. A new agreement this year will allow Nebraska's telecasts on FSN Midwest to also be seen around the nation on ESPN FullCourt. Check listings for the channel assignment on FSN Midwest and ESPN FullCourt.
The Nebraska-Iowa State contest can be heard live on the radio on the Husker Sports Network, consisting of 30 stations around Nebraska and Iowa that provide coverage of Nebraska athletic events. Veteran play-by-play man Kent Pavelka will call the action while former Husker Andy Markowski adds color commentary. The broadcast will be carried around the world live on the Internet on Huskers.com.
NU men's basketball games can typically also be heard on satellite radio. This week, however, Kansas State's broadcast will be the only one heard on Sirius Satellite Radio on channel 125.
Nebraska will be looking for its third straight win in conference action. With a victory, the Huskers would pull within a game of .500 in the league standings after starting the season 0-4, including a pair of losses to top-5 Kansas. The last time the Huskers won three straight games in league play was 2005-06 with victories over Missouri, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
The Huskers will also be searching for their second straight road win after defeating Missouri last week in Columbia, Mo., by a 66-62 margin. Nebraska won consecutive road games last year with victories over Missouri and Texas Tech, the first time since posting victories at Colorado and No. 24 Kansas in 1999.
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HUSKER LADIES TIP OFF BIG 12 SECOND HALF AT COLORADO...
Senior forward Danielle Page leads the Huskers to her home state of Colorado to battle the Buffaloes on Wednesday at 9 p.m.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (16-6, 5-3)
at Colorado Buffaloes (13-8, 2-6)
Coors Events Center (11,064) • Boulder, Colo.
Wednesday, Feb. 6 • 9 p.m. CST
Television: FSN Rocky Mountain
(DirecTV Ch. 645, DISH Ch. 414, Time Warner Cable Ch. 302)
Radio: Husker Sports Network
(98.1 FM-KFGE, Lincoln, 1110 AM-KFAB)
Live Internet Audio: Huskers.com (free)
Huskers Tip Off Second Half of Big 12 Season at Colorado
The Nebraska women’s basketball team starts the second half of the Big 12 Conference season by traveling to Boulder to take on Colorado on Wednesday night. Tip-off with the Buffaloes at the Coors Events Center is scheduled for 9 p.m., with live television coverage provided by FSN Rocky Mountain. The game can be seen on DirecTV Ch. 645 and DISH Network Channel 414 along with Time Warner Cable Channel 302 in Lincoln. Live radio coverage on the Husker Sports Network will provided by 98.1 FM-KFGE in Lincoln and 1110 AM-KFAB in Omaha. KFAB will join the game in progress following the conclusion of the Husker men’s game at Kansas State.
The Huskers head to Colorado after a thrilling 73-67 comeback win at Missouri on Sunday. Nebraska trailed by 14 points with 8:30 left and by 10 points with 5:30 remaining before storming to the six-point win. Junior Kelsey Griffin scored 17 of her season-high 23 points in the second half to lead the Husker comeback, including 15 points in the final 12 minutes. The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, averaged 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game last week to earn Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors on Feb. 4. Griffin leads the Huskers in Big 12 play with 15.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game despite playing with a cracked rib.
Nebraska’s late-game turnaround at Missouri was nearly astonishing. The Huskers hit just 12-of-42 shots to open the game, before hitting 12 of their final 13 shots from the field to close the contest. NU scored on 19 of its 20 possessions to close the game, scoring 39 points in the final 12 minutes, after managing just 34 points in the first 28 minutes.
Sophomore guard Yvonne Turner played a big role in the NU turnaround at Missouri, scoring all nine of her points in the second half, including eight in the final 4:09. Turner has led Nebraska defensively on the perimeter throughout the season, leading the Big 12 in conference play with 2.88 steals per game.
Senior forward Danielle Page is also enjoying her best season at Nebraska. The 6-2 native of Monument, Colo., is averaging 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. She owns 55 blocks on the year and needs just five more to become the first player in NU history to record 60 or more blocks twice in her career.
Nebraska Nuggets: Team Notes
- NU enters the week at No. 20 in the CollegeRPI.com power rankings. The Huskers own six wins over top-50 RPI teams and all six of NU’s losses have come against top-40 RPI foes. NU is one of nine Big 12 teams in the top 50, and 11 Big 12 teams are ranked among the RPI’s top 100 with only No. 113 Missouri outside the century club. The Big 12 is the best conference in the nation according to CollegeRPI.com.
- Nebraska’s No. 14 RPI entering the week of Jan. 28 is the highest the Huskers have ever been rated outside of the non-conference season. Early this year, NU spent a few days as the No. 1 RPI team in the country.
- The Huskers’ Strength of Schedule comes in at No. 16 according to CollegeRPI.com. The Huskers are 6-6 so far this year against Top 50 RPI clubs, and have played the best home schedule in school history. NU has hosted traditional NCAA powers Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Mississippi, Florida, Kansas State and Kansas already this year. The Huskers opened the season at home against UTEP, which is 17-2 this season. The Miners’ only other loss this year came by single digits at Kansas State. UTEP entered the week at No. 24 in the CollegeRPI.com rankings.
- The Huskers headed into the second half of Big 12 Conference play with a 16-6 overall record and a 5-3 league mark. It marked the fifth straight season that NU hit the turn in league play with a .500 or better record. Nebraska was 6-2 through the first eight games last year before finishing a tie for fourth with a 10-6 conference mark.
Nebraska's 82-72 win over Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum ended a 10-year losing streak to the Cyclones in Ames. NU's last win had come on Jan. 30, 1997, in Angela Beck's final year as the Husker head coach. - NU set a school record with 11 three-pointers in the win at Iowa State. The Huskers have hit 10 or more three-pointers on five occasions against the Cyclones.
- Nebraska's 45 points allowed in a 56-45 win over No. 15 Texas were the fewest scored by a top-25 opponent in school history against the Huskers.
- The Huskers' win at Missouri was their fifth straight over the Tigers in Columbia. It also marked Nebraska's largest comeback victory of the season. NU trailed by 14 points with 8:30 left in the contest, before winning 73-67.
- Nebraska is leading the Big 12 in conference games only by hitting 79.6 percent of its free throw attempts. Entering league play, NU ranked 11th in the league at 59.9 percent, ahead of only Oklahoma. The Sooners are ranked second in Big 12 games only at 75.4 percent.
- Nebraska (30-32) and Kansas (7-8) combined to hit 37-of-40 free throws on Jan. 12. The 92.5 percent free throw shooting was the best combined mark by both teams in Husker history, surpassing a 34-of-37 effort (91.9 percent) between Nebraska (18-19) and Oklahoma (16-18) in the Sooners’ 91-69 win at the Lloyd Noble Center on Feb. 5, 2000.
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KROPP RETURNS TO OMAHA WITH AVP "HOT WINTER NIGHTS" TOUR...
Former Husker All-American Jenny Kropp is now on the AVP Tour.
Lincoln – Nebraska volleyball fans will have an opportunity to see one of their former standouts in action next Thursday night in Omaha, as the AVP Tour brings its "Crocs Hot Winter Nights" Tour to Omaha.
The 19-city tour stops at the Qwest Center next Thursday night, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m., and tickets for the event are available for purchase at Ticketmaster outlets and at Ticketmaster.com. The tour, which began in Oklahoma City last month and continues throughout February, replicates a beach tournament environment, complete with sand, music and all of the trapping of beach volleyball.
Jenny Kropp was chosen as the AVP’s Crocs Rookie of the Year in 2007, posting three top-10 finishes, including a third-place finish in Chicago where her and her partner Jen Pavley upset four top-10 teams to reach the semifinals. Kropp appeared in 13 events and finished third on the tour in blocks at 1.15 per game.
Strong blocking was Kropp’s forte during her college career as a Husker. The Grand Island, Neb., native still ranks in the top-10 on Nebraska’s career lists for both blocks (544, seventh) and block assists (484, fifth). Kropp earned second-team All-America honors as a senior, averaging 2.45 kills per game on .371 hitting and 1.73 blocks per game. Kropp was a two-time AVCA All-Central Region pick and led the Huskers to an undefeated record and a national title in 2000. Following graduation from NU, she played professionally in Puerto Rico for two seasons.
Four men and four women compete in Omaha including three-time Olympian Holly McPeak, Angie Akers and Angela Lews. The men’s tournament features AVP stars Matt Fuerbringer, Jake Gibb, Casey Jennings and Sean Rosenthal.
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TTRAULT, SCHMIDT FACE TOP GYMNASTS AT WINTER CUP...
Senior Stephen Ttrault will be participating in his fourth consecutive Winter Cup. He has earned a bid every year since his freshman season.
Nebraska All-Americans Stephen Ttrault and T.J. Schmidt will get a chance to go up against some of the nation’s top gymnasts at the 2008 Winter Cup in Las Vegas. The two Nebraska natives earned spots at the invitation-only, three-day event, which begins on Thursday, Feb. 7. Two sessions of preliminary action begin at 2 p.m central at the Las Vegas Sports Center and the meet concludes on Saturday, Feb. 9, with finals starting at 8:30 p.m.
Approximately 84 gymnasts will attend the 2008 Winter Cup. Each participant received invitations to the meet either through a qualifying finish at a 2007 national event or by submitting a video to a panel of judges. The field is separated into two sessions of 42 participants each on Thursday, of which those gymnasts who finish in the top three on any given event or those who receive a qualifying score will advance to the finals on Saturday. Friday is set aside as a finalist training day.
The Winter Cup is used to select seven members for the U.S. National Team, including the top four finishers from the meet as well as three additional athletes as selected by the Men’s Program Committee.
Both Ttrault and Schmidt will begin the meet on the parallel bars in Session 1, which will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday. Joining the Huskers is a large group of Michigan Woverines, including Thomas Kelley, Joe Catrambone, Ralph Rosso, Ed Umphrey and Mel Anton Santander. The groups will follow Olympic order from their starting event.
The two Huskers have had vast experience at the Winter Cup, as Ttrault has attended the event every season since his freshman year and Schmidt received an invitation during his sophomore season.
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HUSKER GYMNASTS FALL TO SOONERS IN OKLAHOMA...
Norman, Okla. – The No. 10 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team scored a team mark of 327.75 in front of 1,238 fans at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., against the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners on Friday night. Despite strong team and event scores, NU’s performance wasn’t quite enough to prevail over OU, which posted a score of 355.55 for the win.
"We're doing much better just look at our scores," Nebraska Head Coach Francis Allen said. "We're starting to get a little team momentum built up, but we just have to have more meets. We want to be in a position to beat both Iowa and Minnesota so we can be in the top six"
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NU FINISHES THIRD AT STANFORD GYMNASTICS OPEN...
Palo Alto, Calif.-The No. 14 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team finished third at the Stanford Open in front of a blaring crowd at the Burnham Pavilion on Saturday night. The Huskers scored a 333.85 on the night, while Stanford notched a 361.35 for top honors and California scored a 357.90 for second place. NU fell to a 0-6 all-time record against the Cardinal and a 1-4 all-time record against the Golden Bears.
With Stanford and Cal’s athletes in full force, Nebraska was unable to crack the top three in any event. However, several gymnastics earned career-high scores on the night.
“We did some really good things, but we missed 60 percent of our routines,” Nebraska Coach Francis Allen said. “That’s killing us right now. We started off good today, but in our last three events we couldn’t seem to finish. We are seeing some bright spots here and there.”
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HUSKERS TAKE THIRD AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN GYMNASTICS OPEN...
Colorado Springs, Colo. – The No. 10 Nebraska men's gymnastics team opened its 2008 season by earning a third-place finish with a score of 331.20 at the Rocky Mountain Open on Saturday night.
The U.S. Olympic Training Center won the six-team competition with a score of 347.90, while No. 3 Oklahoma placed second with a score of 343.55. Air Force managed a fourth-place showing (323.20), while Arizona State took fifth (305.85) and Washington settled for sixth (194.10).
"This was our first meet and we made little mistakes and errors,” Nebraska Coach Francis Allen said. “Once we get these first meet jitters out of our system we’ll be fine. We need to go home and clean up those little areas and we have the potential to be a great team.”
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ESPN TABS HUSKER SOFTBALL TEAM AS WORLD SERIES CONTENDER...
Coach Revelle's 2008 Huskers feature no seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores and seven freshmen.
As part of its softball season preview, Graham Hays of ESPN.com featured Head Coach Rhonda Revelle and the 2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers as a candidate to make it to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
Hays cited Revelle's proven coaching success, as well as promising hitters Crystal Carwile and Amanda Duran and returning Big 12 ERA Champion Molly Hill as reasons why the Huskers may end the season at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Revelle is seeing her team gain some favorable preseason expectations, despite the fact that Nebraska features one of the youngest squads in school history this season. The Huskers will rely heavily on eight newcomers to produce this season, while the roster does not include a single senior for the first time in the 33-year history of the program.
Below is an excerpt from Hays' column, entitled Cinderellas-in-waiting, pitchers on the rise and other preseason questions:
The University of Nebraska brought back one legend in an attempt to recapture the glory of bygone years on the gridiron when the school tabbed Tom Osborne to take over as athletic director. Luckily for softball fans in Lincoln, that program's championship aspirations have more to do with the present than the past in large part because coach Rhonda Revelle never left.
A player on the Nebraska team that went to the first Women's College World Series in 1982 -- one of seven all-time appearances for the Cornhuskers -- Revelle has run the show from the bench for the last 15 seasons. She took her team to Oklahoma City as recently as 2002 and while they aren't likely to open the season with the same fanfare as Big 12 rivals like Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Baylor, the Cornhuskers may have what it takes to outlast almost anyone.
For more of Hays' complete feature and season preview, visit ESPN.com by clicking here.
Nebraska, which is receiving votes in the preseason USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll, opens its season one week from Friday with a pair of games at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
TEAM PICKED TO FINISH SIXTH IN BIG 12...
The Nebraska softball team was picked to finish sixth in the 2008 Big 12 preseason coaches poll, the conference announced on Thursday, Jan. 17.
Texas A&M was the preseason favorite to win the league for the third straight year. Oklahoma was picked second, while Baylor received two first-place votes and came in at No. 3. Missouri and Texas rounded out the top five.
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ASSISTANT VOLLEYBALL COACH MAES NAMED HEAD COACH AT VIRGINIA...
Lincoln – University of Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook confirmed Monday afternoon that head assistant coach Lee Maes is leaving the Husker program to become the head coach at the University of Virginia.
Maes spent three seasons on the Husker staff, handing player training and opponent scouting and working extensively with the middle blockers while serving as the Huskers' recruiting coordinator. In his three seasons at Nebraska, Maes' teaching was evident, as the Huskers went 96-5 with three Big 12 titles and two appearances in the NCAA Championship match. He helped develop 13 AVCA All-Americans in his time at Nebraska, including national players of the year Christina Houghtelling (2005) and Sarah Pavan (2006).
Cook said that Maes has played a vital role in Nebraska’s success over the last three years, highlighted by helping the Huskers win the school’s third NCAA title.
“Since Lee’s arrival, Nebraska has been on an incredible run over the last three years,” Cook said. “We are thankful for his hard work and effort and helping Nebraska volleyball reach the next level. One of Lee’s long-range goals was to become a head coach, and Virginia presented a great opportunity for him. They are very lucky to have him as their head coach, and it shows the commitment that Virginia is making to become a successful program.”
Cook said that a national search is underway.
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