Independent. Uncomfortable. Nebraska.
Big Red
Truth.
Love the program.
Question the decisions. Follow the record.
The good. The bad. The ugly. Nothing gets a free pass.
The record / Not the mythology
The stories that matter
Under the microscope.
01 / Athletic director accountability
Who set the direction?
The good, bad and ugly of Nebraska’s athletic directors. Trace the contract decisions and compare a transparent four-sport results score—not an invented lifetime waste total.
Read the full investigationModern directors examined
07
Seven modern tenures. Editorial score weights football 50%, volleyball 20% and each basketball program 15%; dollars remain separate and earlier directors are unscored.
From the earliest chapters
The faces behind
the record.
Frank Crawford
Catalogued seasons 1893–1894
Fielding H. Yost
Catalogued seasons 1898
Walter C. Booth
Catalogued seasons 1900–1905
E.O. Stiehm
Catalogued seasons 1911–1915
D.X. Bible
Catalogued seasons 1929–1936
Football / Contract record
The money record.
Nebraska fired these five coaches. Firing them did not cancel their contracts.
Paid. A source reported money changed hands.
Owed. The contract called for payment—not proof the coach received it all.
Do not add these amounts together as “money spent.” Some were reported paid; others were amounts owed. These figures do not include assistants or coaches still working. ≈ means approximately.
A separate study of firing costs
$27,914,154
A 2020 report counted football and men’s basketball firing costs since 2005. It leaves out Solich and came before Frost’s firing. It already includes some of the costs above—adding it would count those costs twice.
Study source
The football journey did not stop at Frost
Matt Rhule.
Still on the record.
24–22
Selected Nebraska seasons 2023–2026; includes marked in-progress rows, not a completed-tenure verdict.
$74,000,000 / eight years
Original 2022 agreement, 90% guaranteed—not cash wasted or a current contract audit. Later amendments remain unreconciled.
The people behind the decisions
Who held the power.
Athletic directors. University leadership. Head coaches. The terms and documented decisions—not guilt by association.
The successes deserve their place
Greatness, on record.
Every Heisman winner. The official football retired honors. Championship years and the distinction between jerseys and numbers.
The evidence behind the argument
The record runs deep.
26
Program entries
893
Sourced W–L–T seasons
249
Finish / status rows
Sourced season records, championship registers and selected career marks. Each program states its coverage. Missing years are never zero; this is not yet every statistic or every season.
The statistical archive
All sports. All eras.
26 program entries
Men
5 title yearsFootball
1890–2026
137 sourced seasons · 936–439–40
Women
5 title yearsVolleyball
1975–2026
52 sourced seasons · 1555–273–12
Men
Baseball
1889–2026
120 sourced seasons · 2440–1769–18
Women
Beach Volleyball
2013–2025 · 12 recorded seasons
12 sourced seasons · 107–81
Men
Basketball
1896–97 to 2025–26
130 sourced seasons · 1624–1480
Women
Basketball
1974–75 to 2025–26
52 sourced seasons · 928–666
Women
6 title yearsBowling
NCAA finish history
23 finishes/statuses
Men
Cross Country
NCAA finish history
8 finishes/statuses
Women
Cross Country
NCAA finish history
12 finishes/statuses
Men
Golf
History documented from 1935
89 finishes/statuses
Women
Golf
NCAA finish history
3 finishes/statuses
Men
8 title yearsGymnastics
Recorded results: 1964–2024
61 sourced seasons · 978–531–6
Women
Gymnastics
NCAA finish history
17 finishes/statuses
Women
Rifle
NCAA finish history
4 finishes/statuses
Women
Soccer
1994–2025
32 sourced seasons · 379–208–67
Women
Softball
1976–2026
51 sourced seasons · 1703–983
Women
Swimming & Diving
NCAA finish history
27 finishes/statuses
Men
Tennis
1928–2026 · 95 recorded seasons
95 sourced seasons · 766–881–14
Women
Tennis
1976–2023 · results from 1979
45 sourced seasons · 623–420
Men
Indoor Track & Field
Coverage under research
Records under research
Women
3 title yearsIndoor Track & Field
NCAA finish history
3 finishes/statuses
Men
Outdoor Track & Field
NCAA finish history
42 finishes/statuses
Women
Outdoor Track & Field
Coverage under research
Records under research
Men
Wrestling
1910–11 to 2025–26 · 106 recorded seasons
106 sourced seasons · 784–583–29
Men · Former program
Swimming & Diving
1921–22 to 2000–01
21 finishes/statuses
Women · Former program
Field Hockey
Coverage under research
Records under research
Initial varsity program index. Indoor and outdoor track are separate entries. Historical program inventory remains under review; unlisted sports are not presumed never to have existed.