Faith in the Game: Lessons on Football, Work, and Life

As head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers for twenty-five years, Tom Osborne had one of the most impressive records in college football. Before retiring in 1997, he took his team to a bowl game every year, won three national championships in the last four years he coached, and ended his career boasting an 84 percent winning record. But while these numbers testify to an undeniable accomplishment, it has been another, more powerful force that has shaped Osborne's life: his faith.

In Faith in the Game, this legendary coach shares the philosophy he used to create not only a champion football team, but also a meaningful life. Both a memoir of Osborne's career with the Cornhuskers and an inspirational guide to making the most out of life, Faith in the Game presents the traits Osborne helped to instill in his team, including core values like honesty, loyalty, and courage. Illustrated with compelling behind-the-scenes stories of the Nebraska football team and conveyed in his own captivating tone, Osborne's message reveals the value of hard work, the need to balance our professional and personal obligations, and, above all, the importance of bringing faith into our lives.

For those seeking a spiritually centered approach to living and working, this candid account of Tom Osborne's faith and strength is a warm and authentic book from which all of us can learn.

As head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers for twenty-five years, Tom Osborne had one of the most impressive records in college football. Before retiring in 1997, he took his team to a bowl game every year, won three national championships in the last four years he coached, and ended his career boasting an 84 percent winning record. But while these numbers testify to an undeniable accomplishment, it has been another, more powerful force that has shaped Osborne's life: his faith.

In Faith in the Game, this legendary coach shares the philosophy he used to create not only a champion football team, but also a meaningful life. Both a memoir of Osborne's career with the Cornhuskers and an inspirational guide to making the most out of life, Faith in the Game presents the traits Osborne helped to instill in his team, including core values like honesty, loyalty, and courage. Illustrated with compelling behind-the-scenes stories of the Nebraska football team and conveyed in his own captivating tone, Osborne's message reveals the value of hard work, the need to balance our professional and personal obligations, and, above all, the importance of bringing faith into our lives.

For those seeking a spiritually centered approach to living and working, this candid account of Tom Osborne's faith and strength is a warm and authentic book from which all of us can learn.

Blending stories of the author's stint as head coach of the Cornhuskers with a strong coaching philosophy and view of life firmly rooted in Christian principles, Faith in the Game explores the reasons for the Cornhuskers' amazing achievements as a team - and the faith in God that has been the source of Osborne's strength. In over thirty-seven years of coaching one of the nation's leading college football teams, Osborne has learned much about motivating a team to win - both on and off the field. In his new book, he applies these invaluable lessons and values to life.

Both a memoir and a motivational guide, Faith in the Game reveals all the traits required for successful life management and teamwork - such as loyalty, perseverance, integrity, strategy, character, faith, and old-fashioned sweat equity. And it tackles illuminating subjects such as his controversial 1995 season and his team's phenomenally successful Unity Council approach, in which representatives from each part of the team form problem-solving units. And he explains how these strategies can be put to work successfully in other areas of life.

Conveyed in his own captivating, trademark tone, Osborne's inspiring and motivational words will be cheered by readers from all walks of life.

From the Hardcover edition.

Tom Osborne retired in 1997 after thirty-seven years of coaching the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. Inducted into the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998, he now regularly gives motivational talks to groups in the South, Midwest, and West Coast. Osborne, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology, is the author of two previous books:and On Solid Ground. A native Nebraskan, Osborne cofounded the Teammates Mentoring Program. He and his wife, Nancy, live in Lincoln.