Because coaches are by nature extremely competitive and they love challenges. And really, what better way to raise your coaching stock than to be able to say, "I made the Nebraska men's basketball program into a top notch program where invitations to the NCAA tournamnet are the norm." And if a coach "fails" while here it doesn't really hurt him because we suck at basketball anyway.
Or you can say I went to Illinois(as an example) and say I am going to the final 4 on a regular basis.
Well in theory they should. And when it comes to college athletics Minnesota isn't worth being mentioned in the same breath as Nebraska. Unless you are talking strictly about ice hockey.
The women's teams are where they are due to Title IX. Ever heard of it? Schools have been told to spend money on women's athletics. Again what 'great coach' wants to come into a situatioin where his program would be treated as an afterthought? The football team wins, the basketball team doesn't. The fan base doesn't care about BB until the season is almost over. What you believe or don't believe doesn't amount to a small hill of beans. This is how it has been for over 40 years.
I wasn't trying to equate the two athletic departments, but Minnesota's football facilities are much better than the teams they put on the field. Same for Nebraska basketball now.
So maybe the basketball team should work and play hard to give the fans a reason to attend? Fans can help enliven an atmosphere, but the players need to put the foundation in, meaning winning. If Nebraska men's basketball starts playing well and winning you'll see that arena packed football season or not. But the players have to start winning and the fans will follow. And just because title nine was passed doesn't mean success. Title nine has been in effect for a long time and it is just now that the women's bb team is making waves. But all this detracts from the original question: why can't Nebraska hire a great men's basketball coach? I thank you and others for your attempts to answer but I don't think anyone has given me any plausible reasons.
I agree not having a history of hoops on your side hurts, but if schools like Xavier, Gonzaga, and Creighton can make it to the NCAA tournament so can Nebraska given the right coach. Thinking about Nebraska basketball gives me a headache.
Xavier gets to recruit talent rich areas. Gonzaga found a great coach that was willing to stick around, hopefully that is Tim Miles for us. Creighton is by far the best program in it's conference, makes it easy to beat out peers when recruiting. Nebraska can't make that claim against it's peers.
Not a fan of Minnesota at any level but you should perhaps do a little research on their history in atheletics...