Clifford Hardin at the University of Nebraska's 1970 Homecoming football game in Memorial Stadium, standing with three unidentified men.

Chancellor Hardin and Martha Hardin portrait with 7 of the Big 8 conference homecoming queens. are seated in front of them.  Ori

                In 1954, the Nebraska athletic program was massively disorganized and following the Depression and World War II, the public was disappointed and frustrated. Wanting to give the city something to rally behind, Chancellor Clifford Hardin tried to invigorate the football program with a series of new coaches from 1954-1961 (Knoll 139). Losses were frequent and wins were inconsistent and the program faltered. The coach Bill Glassford, who had been with the team since 1949, offered the University a few wins, but was disliked by his players and battled with the press. In 1961 Dana X. Bible suggested Hardin hire Bob Devaney from Michigan State. After visiting Lincoln, Devaney agreed to the job and moved his entire coaching staff to the University.

                Devaney's time at UNL brought the University two national championships, and 101 winning games. In 1967 he became the director of athletics where he stayed until 1993 (Knoll 139).


Sources

     Knoll, Robert E. Prairie University: A History of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995. Print.