Husker mural to commemorate 300th straight sellout

PRINT EMAIL FACEBOOK DIGG TWITTER RSS SHARE

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A new piece of artwork in the lobby of the Nebraska athletic department office building will commemorate the Cornhuskers' 300 consecutive football sellouts and serve as a conversation piece for visitors and prospective recruits.

The mural, to be unveiled Thursday, measures 22-by-28 feet and is made up of 616 mosaic tiles depicting a full stadium with players celebrating and red balloons taking flight to signal the Huskers' first touchdown of a game.

California artist Mike Sullivan was commissioned to design the mural. Athletic director Tom Osborne, who won 255 games and three national titles as the Huskers' coach from 1973-97, was among the university officials who consulted with Sullivan on the design.

"We know how important first impressions are for recruits, and we believe the Mike Sullivan mural will be a focal point that emphasizes our tradition for recruits and their parents when they first walk in the door," Osborne said. "It's kind of a warm way to welcome everyone, and we think it complements all of our other new displays of Husker history and memorabilia."

Sullivan also has done murals celebrating Southern California Trojan football at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Texas Longhorn football at Darrell K. Royal-Memorial Stadium in Austin. Sullivan also did a mural at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., that memorializes Army Ranger Pat Tillman, the former Arizona State and NFL player who was killed in Afghanistan.

The Nebraska mural does not depict any easily identifiable players or coaches.

"We didn't want to focus on a Heisman Trophy winner or Coach Osborne," Sullivan said. "We wanted to focus on the long history of the program."

He said he also wanted to convey the passion and power associated with Nebraska football.

"Seeing the Tunnel Walk and the sea of red in the crowd is an amazing visual image," he said, "and creates a statement of what Nebraska football is all about."

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.