Council Bluffs, Iowa - Iowa Western Community College President Dr. Dan Kinney announced today that former United States congressman and Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne will become an advisor for the college’s new football program. The announcement was made during the quarterly meeting of the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce held at the Mid America Center.

As Iowa Western’s football advisor, Osborne will assist the college in its search for a head coach and provide other input into getting the program off the ground, Kinney said. “I cannot think of a more honest and ethical person to have on board as we begin our pursuit of a Division I junior college football program,” Kinney said, referring to the coaching legend. “Dr. Osborne is going to provide us with the leadership and guidance that we need to begin a quality football program in Council Bluffs.”

In his quarter-century as head coach, Tom Osborne never won fewer than nine games in a season. His 255-49-3 record gave him the best winning percentage (83.6 percent) among active Division 1-A coaches at the time of his retirement and the fifth-best of all time. During his last five seasons, the Huskers went 60-3 and won three national championships. Osborne is active today with his TeamMates Mentoring Program, which he started in 1991 along with his wife, Nancy. The TeamMates Mentoring Program was formalized as a statewide program in 1998 with 12 chapters and 441 mentor/mentee matches. Today, TeamMates includes 73 chapters serving over 3,000 students in grades 4-12. Osborne also serves as an advisor in the Creighton University athletic department.

At its March meeting, the Iowa Western board of trustees approved a preliminary agreement to begin the planning stages for a Division I National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) football program. The college has applied for membership into the nine-team Midwest Football Conference, which is made up of junior college programs from Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and North Dakota.