1963 tragedy (Kennedy assassinated) didn't halt NU-OU (tomorrow is the last game of the long series)

[Omaha Steve]

For those that don't know, NU is leaving the BIG 12 at the end of the season. I'm glad to be joining the BIG 10. But a lot of memories like this will last within me forever.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20101203/NEWS/712039941#1963-tragedy-didn-t-halt-nu-ou

By Dan Sullivan
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Nebraska vs. Oklahoma.

Photo: http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=OW&Date=20101203&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=712039941&Ref=AR&Profile=4&maxw=490&maxh=275
Four Air Force jets flew over and the flags were at half staff for the 1963 Nebraska-Oklahoma game.

National titles, conference championships and undefeated seasons. There's no denying the stakes for these football games over the years.

But it's impossible to really know how much the games have meant to Husker and Sooner fans without considering one fact: The two schools played the day after John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Both schools brought unbeaten Big Eight records into the 1963 game in Lincoln, and $4 tickets were selling for as much as $40.

Excitement built on the NU campus in the days ahead of the game, with about 3,000 students making an impromptu march from campus to the Governor's Mansion on Thursday night and, discovering that Gov. Frank Morrison was gone, marching back again. It was unclear what they would have done had the governor been at home.

The next day, Nov. 22, Kennedy was shot in Dallas.

The Nebraska Board of Regents quickly convened a special meeting, taking six hours to make a decision after consulting with the governor, a Big Eight official and the presidents of the eight conference schools.

FULL story at link.

[Omaha Steve]

1. Kick

[MadHound]

2. I think that Nebraska is going to come crawling back to the Big XII within a decade,

Begging that they be let back in.

Nebraska's vaunted football team isn't going to look so good when it has to go up against the likes of Michigan, Michigan St., Ohio St. and Wisconsin every year.

Their basketball team is going to get absolutely hammered, year in, year out.

Hope you folks enjoy that extra money, because that's about all you're getting out of this deal, a bit of extra money. Your athletic program is going to get hammered into the ground and become the joke of both the Big Ten and Big XII.

[davidinalameda]

3. the Big 12ish won't be around in a decade

I give it 5 years tops before Texas destroys the conference with its greed

[okieinpain]

4. i'm thinking the same thing. n/t.

[Brickbat]

5. It's about more than football, although of course that drives a lot of it. I think it's a great fit.

The volleyball, wrestling, basketball and even baseball programs will benefit from this move. It will also help academics and research funding. Yep, there will be some painful years in football, but we've been dealing with those for awhile, and I'd rather my team get its ass kicked by Wisconsin than Kansas State. This is a great move and makes a lot of sense.

[MadHound]

8. No, this is all about football and revenue from the athletic programs

More specifically, it is about Nebraska getting it's own TV sports network. This action was taken out of greed, wanting more money for their football team.

And frankly, academia and Nebraska, those two words don't even belong in the same sentence. Not trying to be harsh, but the reality is that Nebraska is an athletics driven school, namely a football driven school. It's academic ranking is not good, in fact according to US News, NE is dead last in the Big XII North (you are redeemed by the Texas schools however).

Like I said earlier, I think that Nebraska is getting out of its depth when it comes to jumping to the Big X, and I'll have to laugh every year it founders in that conference.

[Brickbat]

10. As a land-grant university and member of the AAU, Nebraska has a lot in common with the Big 10.

It's USN&WR ranking is low, but it as a member of the AAU, it will fit in with the Big 10 and will have a great chance to tighten up its academics to meet the Big 10 standard. The Big 10's revenue sharing set-up for research will be HUGE for Nebraska. And the conference isn't going to throw that away on just anybody.

[NavyDem]

15. Which TV Network is that?

The Big Ten already has it's own TV Network. That network leads to better revenue sharing (unlike the Big XII). And when you mix athletics with academia, Nebraska commands a large lead in Academic All Americans at 179 (including two named this year).

[KansasVoter]

19. LOL

[Brickbat]

20. Have fun there, Jayhawk.

;) :hi:

[NavyDem]

16. NOT total domination...

All Time Football Records against:

Michigan: 2-3-1
Michigan State: 5-0
Ohio State: 0-2
Wisconsin: 3-2
Indiana: 7-9-3
Illinois: 7-2-1
Penn State: 6-7
Iowa: 26-12-3
Minnesota: 20-29-2
Northwestern: 3-1
Perdue: 0-1
Notre Dame: 8-7-1

Overall: 87-75-8

Keep in mind, that is all time. I bet it is extremely more slanted in Nebraska's favor since 1970.

Edit: I looked up the records against all Big Ten schools since 1962:

Illinois 2-0
Indiana 4-0
Iowa 5-1
Michigan 2-1
Mich. St 3-0
Minn. 14-0
NW 2-0
ND 3-0
Penn St 4-3
Ohio St 0-0
Perdue 0-0
Wisc. 3-1
Overall: Nebraska leads series 42-6.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Brickbat]

7. K&R for a great rivalry. BETTER DEAD THAN SOONER RED! My parents were at the '63 game.

IIRC, there were armed guards ringing the stadium that day, or so I was told. I didn't see that in the story.

[feuclair]

9. Am Sooner and 3 of the top 5 college games

I've seen were OU -Nebraska, back in Barry Switzer's and Tom Osborne's day.

[donco6]

11. Any way for them both to lose?

Is that against the rules?

(Lived eight long years in Lincoln).

[Blue_In_AK]

12. It didn't stop my high school homecoming game either,

November 22, 1963. It was rather shocking, actually, that they went ahead with it, but the argument was that "the president would have wanted us to."

[tammywammy]

13. Ahh, that's the football game playing a mile or so away from my house.

I just drove by the Stadium and saw a bunch of RVs with Nebraska flags on them parked in one lot.

[WinkyDink]

14. Disgusting that they didn't postpone that game.

[Omaha Steve]

17. I thought more of the replies would be on JFK

I remember hearing years ago part of it was the logic JFK would have wanted the game played.

[KansasVoter]

18. There is ONE reason Nebraska is leaving the big 12. 2-10 against Texas!!

[Omaha Steve]

22. When Tom Osborne retired, things went down hill

It is turning around.

[a la izquierda]

21. Boomer Sooner!

I will graduate from the University of Oklahoma with my PhD in May. I can't wait for the game tomorrow. But I don't expect a whole lot of Democrats to understand why they didn't postpone the game. Games got played a week after 9/11 (no offense, but a lot of Democrats seem to take mortal offense to liking sports). From the reports I heard this past 22 November, the stadium during the OU/NE game was so silent you could've heard a pin drop. Silent and respectful. Regardless of politics.
Not sure you'd get that today.