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April 5, 2000 SportsLine.com wire reports |
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Barry Collier, whose Butler team nearly upset NCAA
Tournament runner-up Florida in the first round, was hired Wednesday as
basketball coach of Nebraska.
"This was easy, this was a layup," Collier said of his decision.
He replaces Danny Nee, who was fired March 13 after 14 seasons at Nebraska.
The Huskers went 11-19 this season, matching the school's worst loss total.
Nebraska has made the NCAA Tournament six times but has never gotten past the
first round.
Nebraska's interest in Collier increased Friday when Bill Self chose to
remain with Tulsa. Collier met with athletic director Bill Byrne during the
Final Four, then toured the Nebraska campus and Lincoln on Monday and Tuesday.
"This is a particularly good fit," Collier said. "We really have to
establish from day one that we are going to make our players better. ... We are
in this for the long haul."
Collier coached Butler for 11 seasons, compiling a 196-132 record. The
Indianapolis school has been to the NCAA Tournament three of the last four
years and won at least 20 games in each of the last four seasons.
This season, Butler almost advanced to the second round of the NCAA
Tournament but a last-second layup in overtime gave Florida a 69-68 victory.
Collier worked with Byrne at Oregon in the 1980s. Collier was an assistant
coach with the Ducks from 1983 to 1986 while Byrne was associate athletic
director.
Collier also was an assistant at Idaho and Stanford. He returned to Butler,
his alma mater, in 1989. The school, with an enrollment of just 3,800, had
three winning seasons in the 15 years before his return.
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