Tom Osborne, the former Nebraska football coach who will retire as the school's athletic director January 1st, is the recipient of the Walter Camp Football Foundation "Distinguished American" Award.

The foundation said Wednesday that Osborne will receive the award presented to "an individual who has used his or her talents to attain great success in business, private life or public service and who may have accomplished that which no other has done."

Osborne won 255 games and three national championships in 25 years before he served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He and his wife Nancy founded the TeamMates mentoring program in 1991. He has been athletic director since 2007.

Among past recipients are sportscaster Keith Jackson, NBC Sports executive Dick Ebersol, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and entertainer Bob Hope.