Steven M. Sipple: Solich bringing scholarship back
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Frank Solich is in the process of reinstating a scholarship in his name to the Nebraska athletic department.
The concept of Solich’s $350,000 post-graduate scholarship was the brainchild of three close friends, Bob Sawdon of Austin, Texas; Tom Rodeno of Castle Pines, Colo; and Mick Ziegler of Dallas. The scholarship was established shortly after Solich took over as Nebraska’s head coach in 1998. In 2004, in the months after his firing, he moved the scholarship out of the athletic department to the NU College of Law.
Perhaps Solich didn’t appreciate that the plaque in South Stadium recognizing his scholarship recipients was taken down.
Among past recipients are ex-Huskers Monte Christo, Tim Johnk, Garth Glissman and Jake McKee.
Is the scholarship huge news? Not necessarily. It’s just a tidbit that makes you wonder if certain other moves are on the horizon, such as Nebraska honoring Solich at halftime of a game, perhaps this coming season.
Trust me, there’s strong sentiment in the athletic department, and the football offices in particular, to bring Solich back for an on-field ceremony of some sort. Close friends of Solich have their fingers crossed.
We’ll see. It might be too soon. It’s an extremely emotional situation and delicate on many fronts.
For what it’s worth, I think it would be a tremendous scene. Maybe it would bring some closure for people, maybe for Solich. But does it have to happen this season? Couldn’t this wait a year or two?
Solich remains very emotional about his alma mater. He was an emotional coach, an emotional player. A 5-foot-8, 155-pound fullback in the 1960s, he had no choice but to play with extreme emotion and energy. Just stepping onto the Memorial Stadium field would stir a ton of emotions in the coach.
I know Frank well enough that he would be concerned about a ceremony becoming a distraction to the current Nebraska coaches and players. Also, he feels uncomfortable in almost any situation in which he’s the focal point.
The Solich situation remains an uncomfortable topic for many. Yes, it reopens old wounds. Some will say to just let it go and move on. But then the current Nebraska head coach, Bo Pelini, brings up Solich’s name in recent speeches around the state, and suddenly Solich is in our consciousness once again.
It’s interesting that Pelini has been criticized by some Husker backers for bringing up Solich in his speeches and saying Solich never should have been fired in the first place. As sports fans, we prod our coaches to speak their minds. We tease them about “coachspeak.” Then, when they do speak their minds, when they are candid, we give them the old “Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Regarding his speeches, Pelini says his references to Solich are a matter of being loyal to a friend and a man who hired him. He’s just saying what he feels, Pelini says. A lot of people like that part of Pelini.
As for the old wounds, it’s probably shortsighted to think they’re going to magically heal, even with Tom Osborne back in the fold. Bottom line is, the program has endured massive tumult — almost unimaginable, if you think about it — and the healing process will require a lot of more time and patience. No need to rush anything.
James Dickey, the former Texas Tech head basketball coach and Oklahoma State assistant, was in Lincoln on Wednesday talking to Doc Sadler about Nebraska’s assistant coaching vacancy.
The fact Dickey is even interested in discussing the opening says a lot about his high regard for Sadler and the upward direction Sadler’s program seems to be headed.
Dickey amassed a record of 166-124 at Texas Tech. In 1995-96, the Red Raiders won a school-record 30 games, including an 18-0 mark in the old Southwest Conference, and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.
Tech faltered in Dickey’s final few seasons and he was replaced in 2001 by Bobby Knight. Dickey’s tenure at OSU ended last month when head coach Sean Sutton resigned under pressure following a 17-16 season.
Sadler and Dickey coached together as assistants at Arkansas in the early 1980s. Dickey, when hired as head coach at Tech in 1991, made Sadler his first hire as an assistant.
Sadler no doubt was glad to pick Dickey’s brain about building a program in a place like Lincoln, where it’s not always easy to recruit blue-chip players. Lubbock, Texas, is a nice town with a lot of soul and friendliness, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not going to make any lists of the nation’s top 10 garden spots.
Note to self: Begin studying up on possible national Division I baseball coach-of-the-year candidates.
Is there anyone more deserving than Nebraska’s Mike Anderson?
The Huskers’ businesslike victory over Creighton on Tuesday was a testament to a team staying focused when there could have been a letdown following an ultra-emotional series against Texas A&M.
A tip of the ballcap to NU’s team leaders.
The Big 12-leading Aggies, by the way, lost 16-8 to Texas-Arlington on Tuesday.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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