just because I was forewarned doesn’t make this any easier to swallow.

Byrne was that bad. In fact, he did more good than bad. While he gets blamed for the demise of the football program (at least a share of it), that fate was sealed when Tom Osborne stepped down as coach. Whomever was hired after Tom was screwed no matter the outcome.

Now, you could say Byrne’s leaving screwed up the program because of Pederson….. but that’s a stretch.

At Texas A&M, however, ouch. Not very good, especially his pursuit of Franchione, and now his hiring of Mike Sherman, for whom I have little hope.

this whole concept around Byrne is that you can’t have a wholly excellent athletic department, that if you somehow worry about “minor” sports that you’re ignoring the football team.

I think that attitude is somewhat BS. I realize there are a limited number of resources and you cannot do everything, but having a better baseball program at Nebraska does help the football team, just as having an excellent volleyball team does.

Again, Byrne at A&M – different story.

…but rather that he neglected the facilities the football program uses. Nebraska fell behind as other programs built new locker facilities, weight rooms, and meeting space. At halftime, the defense used to meet in the shower because there wasn’t a place for them to go.

Having a great overall athletic program is a noble goal and one you should pursue. Excellence across the board means everywhere, and you don’t forget your cash cow when pulling the other programs up. Bill Byrne did that at Nebraska, and for all the sins Steve Pederson committed at/to Nebraska, that’s one thing he corrected.

(*And by talking about football facilities, I’m dismissing the skyboxes and the west stadium complex. Those were for the fans and the boosters of substance, not the coaches and players.)