OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Ohio coach Frank Solich, whose firing at Nebraska is still debated among fans 15 years later, will return to the state this winter to receive a service award from the Football Writers Association of America.

The organization announced Friday that Solich would be presented the Tom Osborne Legacy Award at the Outland Trophy banquet on Jan. 9 in Omaha. The FWAA said Solich has agreed to come to the event, which will be one of his few public appearances in the state since he was dismissed in 2003.

Solich was an All-Big Eight fullback at Nebraska in the 1960s, a longtime assistant to Osborne and a winner of better than 75 percent of his games as head coach.