John Cook, the former Nebraska Volleyball head coach, announced his retirement on January 29, 2025. He first started his college coaching career at Wisconsin, where he coached for seven years. Then, in 2000, he took over the Nebraska volleyball program, where he has stayed since. In those years he and his team have made many achievements.
At Nebraska, Cook has won four National Championships. Most notably, he won the 2000 National Championship with a 34-0 record– the second team in the NCAA to do so. Last season the team lost in the final four against Penn State during the fifth set. This was Cook’s last game at Nebraska.
Cook worked to increase the popularity and viewership of the Nebraska team, and the sport overall. Under Cook, the program came through to make history for women’s sports. In 2023, Cook took his team onto the football field to play a game. This game had 92,003 attendees in the stands, becoming the largest attendance for a women’s sporting event in the world. This moment brought a lot of attention to the team and Cook for their ability to pull off such an event.
It has already been announced that Dani Busboom Kelly (DBK) will be taking over Cook’s position. She will be the fourth head coach of Nebraska’s volleyball team. It’ll be a homecoming, due to the fact that Nebraska is her hometown and where she played the setter and libero positions for the 2003-2006 Nebraska team. She has expressed how thankful she is for Cook’s mentorship which has brought her to where she is.
DBK also has a strong resume that supports this decision. In her past eight years coaching at Louisville she has brought them to two NCAA championships matches in the past three years. She was also an assistant coach under Cook for the Nebraska team succeeding her time as a player. She won the AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year (2016.)
Many will be sad about Cook’s retirement, but in his own words “It’s a long time to do something. It’s been a great run.” He has built strong bonds with his players that can be seen on and off the court. However, the Nebraska Volleyball program has entrusted DBK to continue his legacy. While the end of an era, it’s also the beginning of a new one.
