Osborne to stay awhile

LINCOLN - Nebraska hopes to tamp down gossip and focus on business by changing the wording of Tom Osborne's appointment as athletic director.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Harvey Perlman disclosed that Osborne's current agreement - with an end date of June 2010 - has been changed to an indefinite appointment subject to yearly reviews.

"The chancellor and I agreed that a 'date-certain' deal was not real healthy for the department," Osborne said in an interview. "People had begun to speculate on who the next A.D. will be, and what the procedure will be."

The new wording also offers some stress relief to department personnel, particularly the coaches of the two revenue-producing sports - Bo Pelini in football and Doc Sadler in men's basketball.

"This gives Bo and his staff time to adjust and settle in," Osborne said. "And I have a good relationship with Doc. I want to help him get things going."

Sadler said he's glad to hear it.

"I'm very happy," he said. "People are excited about the way things are going right now. And any time you have continuity, it's good."

Osborne, 72, took over as interim athletic director in October 2007 after the firing of Steve Pederson. Two months later, the "interim" was removed from Osborne's title.

Now, there is no timetable for departure, either.

"I am delighted that Tom has agreed to stay in harness for an indefinite period," Perlman said in a statement.

Perlman and Osborne also agreed that when a new athletic director is chosen, it would come through an open process with a search committee. No successor has been designated or is favored, they said.

"While I think an open process is required," Perlman said, "Tom's advice and counsel will play an important role in the ultimate selection, as will the views of our head coaches."

The next A.D. may have to wait awhile because Osborne, who had double-bypass heart surgery 24 years ago, neither looks nor sounds like someone pondering retirement.

He quickly rattled off three projects he wants to see come to fruition or at least get started under his watch:

• The student life center, set for completion in about a year.

• The basketball practice facility, which is about two years away.

• A decision on a new basketball arena or extensive remodeling of the Devaney Center.

"I'm not saying I'm going to be here until a new arena is built, because that could be four or five years away," Osborne said. "But I want to help see that a plan is in place for something."

A university spokesman said Wednesday that there is no mandatory retirement age.

Bob Devaney was NU's athletic director at age 77, then served as A.D. emeritus for three more years before retiring. At Arkansas, Frank Broyles worked as athletic director to age 83 before retiring at the end of 2007.

Osborne said he can't see working into his 80s.

"I'm very sensitive to the fact that people sometimes stay beyond their time," he said. "I don't want to have that happen. I don't want to be perceived as a figurehead or as someone who can't do the job."

Sadler isn't worried about Osborne's capacity for work.

" People are excited about the way things are going right now," Sadler said. "There's nobody better than Coach Osborne to show us what we need to do and take us where we need to go."

• Contact the writer: 444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com