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Lincoln’s Ron Grebe is 84. He doesn’t travel much anymore, but he rarely misses a home game when Nebraska plays football, basketball or baseball. He’s a Big Red loyalist, a devout member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and relishes Nebraska being one of three teams with 5-7 records invited to participate in a bowl game this year.

Grebe is ecstatic that the Huskers, the only team to beat Big Ten Conference champion Michigan State this season, get the opportunity to play UCLA (8-4) in the Foster Farms Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the site of Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016.

Talk about an extraordinary fate for a tradition-rich University that excels academically and athletically. The Huskers landed on their feet in California, a state Nebraska recruits successfully and a West Coast fan base that follows NU loyally.

“Nebraska will love taking a trip like that. The kids will enjoy every minute of it,” Grebe said. “They’ll play hard and represent Nebraska and the Big Ten well in a prime-time (ESPN) game on the Saturday night after Christmas (Dec. 26). I’ll be rooting for a team that could just as easily have been 8-4 this season like UCLA and maybe even 9-3. They deserve to play in one of the world’s best stadiums, and they deserve our support.”

Huskers Rank Third on NCAA List of Most Bowl Game Appearances

When he was younger, Grebe made bowl trips to watch the Huskers play and even made five trips to watch the Super Bowl. Now, he’ll be like most and watch the action on television, confident that Nebraska will find a way to weave its accomplishments into the fabric of its history.

“How many bowl games have we played in?” Grebe asked. “Aren’t we in the top three?”

I’m glad he asked. The Huskers will make their 52nd appearance in a bowl game this year, enabling Nebraska to rank third on the all-time chart. Alabama is the leader with 63 overall bowl appearances. Texas ranks second with 53, one more than Nebraska. Georgia and Tennessee share the fourth and fifth positions with 51 bowl appearances each, one fewer than Nebraska.

Fellow Big Ten member Minnesota and San Jose State were the other 5-7 teams earning a bowl bid this year. With 40 bowl games, the last three slots required inviting teams that finished below .500. The selections were based on an NCAA approval plan that places the primary emphasis on Academic Progress Ratings (APR).

A generous donor, Grebe supports the logic behind the tie-breaker rule. “One of the main reasons that I donate to Nebraska Athletics is having known Dennis Leblanc and Keith Zimmer for more than 30 years,” he said of Nebraska administrators who specialize in academics (Leblanc) and life skills (Zimmer). “I knew those two from the beginning when they weren’t very high in the pecking order. I know where their emphasis is and how they operate. When it comes to my loyalty, it’s the University of Nebraska.”

January 1, 2016: 75th Anniversary of Nebraska's First-Ever Bowl Game

Growing up in Lincoln, Grebe has fond memories that take him back to the 1941 Rose Bowl, Nebraska’s first-ever bowl invitation that will celebrate its 75th anniversary on New Year’s Day.

Herm Rohrig was a halfback on Nebraska’s 1941 Rose Bowl team. “His mother and father lived around the corner from my grandparents, who lived at 535 P Street,” Grebe said. “There were a lot of Germans living there. In a nutshell, they were part of our family. A lot of kids who lived in the North and the South Russian Bottoms were kids just like me.”

Grebe said Nebraska’s integrity, academic commitment and overall record in college football solidify NU’s acceptance to play UCLA in the Foster Farms Bowl Game on Dec. 26th. Last year, Stanford beat Maryland in Santa Clara. “I won’t be there, but I’ll be watching like everyone else in Husker Nation,” Grebe said. “I’m happy for those kids and those coaches. A game like this will really help them take a big step for next season.”

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Views from Husker Nation

Excellent story about Nebraska’s bowl game with UCLA!The good Mr. Grebe puts me to shame. I didn’t want a bowl game...thought we might be matched up with a team like Frank Solich’s Ohio team and lose. We haven’t lost eight games since 1957, but, as my mom always said, it’s always best to be positive. Hans Johnson, Classes of 1963, 1973 and Michigan 1965, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma