There’s a room named after legendary play-by-play announcer Keith Jackson in the Memorial Stadium press box.
Jackson, whose signature phrases like “Whoa, Nelly!” made him the down-home voice of college football during more than five decades as a sportscaster, died Friday. He was 89.
Jackson was the lead commentator for many moments in Husker history. He called Nebraska’s victory over Oklahoma in 1978 — when the Huskers forced six fumbles to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Sooners — the 1974 Sugar Bowl and the 1997 win at No. 2 Washington, among countless other classics.
He became such a regular presence in Lincoln that when Memorial Stadium underwent a renovation in the late '90s, there was a particular part of the press box dedicated to him — the bathroom in the TV broadcast booth.
Don Bryant, the longtime NU sports information director, said Jackson told him at the time he was pleasantly surprised that he would have access to a bathroom in the booth rather than have to use the facilities open to the rest of the working news media. Seeing an opportunity to have some fun with his longtime friend, Bryant had an engraved sign hung next to the door of the TV booth bathroom: “Keith Jackson Toilet Facility.”
Jackson seemed to always hold Nebraska fans in high regard. In a 2010 interview with The World-Herald, Jackson said his favorite memory from calling Nebraska games was seeing how gracious Husker fans were in defeat, like in a 1985 loss to Florida State or to Washington in 1991.
“Maybe it’s because I’m an old country boy,” Jackson said, “but I respect that from a crowd, who will say to the winner, ‘Well done.’ ”
Jackson also recorded a video tribute to Nebraska fans that was played during the celebration of Memorial Stadium’s 300th consecutive sellout in 2009.
“300 consecutive sellouts? Are you kidding? Wow!” Jackson said in the video. “And some of the guys from that first Bob Devaney team are here today to join the party as well. These are the guys that sowed the seeds. They’re the ones that set the discipline standard. They’re the ones that opened the door to this historic day. 300 consecutive sellouts. The whole nation of college football stands in admiration.”
