Alvarez Proof There is No Place like Nebraska

2015 Reunion Seemed Like Old Times for '65 Huskers

Randy York’s N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

With respect to the University of Wisconsin, a prestigious Big Ten Conference institution with a legendary athletic director/football coach who is to the Dairy State what Bob Devaney was to Nebraska, let’s make an exclamation point for both schools today.

The timing is perfect because the Huskers and Badgers are in the middle of their respective non-conference schedules. That means both fan bases can pull for each other until the Big Ten slugfest begins. After that, it’s everyone for themselves. So savvy Wisconsin fans will be rooting for Nebraska to win at Miami while Husker fans expect the Badgers to prevail over Troy.

Whatever carnage follows depends on what’s best for both programs and their expected pursuit of a Big Ten West Division title to play, perhaps, Ohio State, the defending national champion.

Today’s theme is a simple one – Barry Alvarez is proof that there’s no place like Nebraska. Why? Because last Saturday, while the Badgers continued to pull away from Miami (Ohio) in the third quarter of a 58-0 mismatch, Alvarez and his wife, Cindy, left Camp Randall Stadium, boarded a private plane, flew straight to Lincoln and walked into East Memorial Stadium’s third-floor facility.

Eichorst’s Phone Call Enabled Alvarez to Make the Trip to Lincoln

Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst welcomed 44 former Husker players, including Alvarez, in a 90-minute pregame, 50-year reunion. A couple weeks before, Eichorst, a former Wisconsin administrator that Barry recommended to succeed Tom Osborne at Nebraska, called Alvarez. He asked if he was aware that Nebraska’s 7 p.m. kickoff against South Alabama is eight hours after Wisconsin’s 11 a.m. kickoff in Madison.

“I had no idea,” Alvarez told me. “I was a sophomore on that 1965 team and wasn’t a starter. But I knew everyone on the team, and I was thinking how much fun it would be to make that reunion. That team was so close to a national championship and had so many great players, including 14 who played in the NFL.”

One of Alvarez’s best friends, Frank Solich, was coaching last Saturday at Ohio, and was unable to make the trip to Lincoln. “I just thought there was no way I could make it either until Shawn pointed out the kickoff times,” Alvarez said. “A private flight from Madison to Lincoln is only an hour. After Shawn called, I was ready to go.”

Alvarez: Osborne’s Account of 1966 Orange Bowl Was ‘Spot On’

Alvarez still shows the same passion and respect he has always had for his alma mater. He intermingled with his former teammates, gave legendary trainer George Sullivan a pat on the back and listened to Osborne reminisce about the 1965 season.

Osborne and Alvarez see each other a lot during the football season because both are members of the College Football Playoff Committee. Alvarez said Osborne did a great job describing how Nebraska “ran the table” in 1965 to earn a national championship opportunity against Bear Bryant’s Alabama team in the Orange Bowl. “Tom’s analysis was spot on,” Alvarez said.

The Huskers’ 1965 team, by the way, beat Wisconsin, 37-0. Twenty-five years later, Alvarez was the head coach in Madison, posting a 118-73-4 record in 16 seasons. He   compared the situation he faced at Wisconsin to what Devaney faced when he arrived at Nebraska in 1962.

“My entire blueprint for success was what Bob did and what Tom did following Bob,” Alvarez said. “I had so much respect for them and everything they did, including recruit walk-ons like scholarship players. Bob and Tom did something back-to-back that’s never been done or duplicated since.”

Reunions Take People Back to the Very Roots of Their Memories

Last Saturday, Alvarez, a sophomore backup linebacker behind 1965 co-captain Mike Kennedy, blended in with his former teammates. He listened to friend Marv Mueller, learned about Harry “Light Horse” Wilson’s adventures and laughed at good friend Rick “Gordo” Coleman’s remembrances from half a decade ago. Alvarez shared game stories, war stories and even police stories since he once was a Lincoln policeman.

Alvarez talked about ends Tony Jeter and Freeman White, plus fellow first-team All-Americans Walt Barnes and Larry Wachholz. Good friend and underrated player John Strohmyer popped up. So did Jim McCord, Dick Czap, Ernie Sigler, Ivan Zimmer, Bill Haug and Jim Osberg. Alvarez also mentioned Mike Devaney, Bob’s son, who became good friends with a number of Husker football players during that era.

LaVerne Allers, Kaye Carstens, Lynn Senkbeil and Carel Stith are four more teammates for which Alvarez has great respect. Senkbeil convinced his three teammates to collaborate with him on a 116-page quick-read book they entitled Hit ‘em with Your Handbag, a story about “How four friends helped changed Husker football.” Dick Beechner, a graduate assistant coach on Devaney’s ‘65 staff, started reading the book and can’t help but chuckle. “It’s interesting,” he said, “and it’s always fun to look back on history.”

Alvarez: It’s Important to Honor and Reflect Back on Your History

That, in effect, is what drew Alvarez to Lincoln in the midst of his own whirlwind schedule. “It’s so important to honor your history,” Alvarez told me. “Any time you can reflect back on the experiences and accomplishments that molded you and shaped you, it’s worth taking the time. When Pat Richter hired me at Wisconsin, he had goals like Bob’s goals. You need a great staff and you all have to work together. That’s what Bob did at Wyoming and Nebraska. Every guy on his coaching staff could coach, and Tom followed that same philosophy when he succeeded Bob.” Somehow, that innate ability to coach influenced both Alvarez and Solich.

Solich spent 25 seasons at Nebraska and succeeded Osborne as head coach. A member of Devaney’s first Husker recruiting class, Solich recorded a 58-19 record (.753 winning percentage) in his six seasons at the Husker helm. As long as Solich remains a head coach, a Saturday salute is unlikely in Lincoln. Someday, however, the opportunity will present itself. When it does, it will be one long overdue homecoming.

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