Cook Named AVCA Division I National Coach of the Year

Richmond, Va. -- Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook has been named the 2000 Tachikara/AVCA Division I Coach of the Year, the AVCA announced Thursday morning. Cook was one of seven finalists for the award, winning the honor after guiding Nebraska to a 32-0 record, a No. 1 ranking, a Big 12 Conference championship and an NCAA Final Four berth in his first season at the helm.

NU, which could become just the second team in NCAA history to end the season with a perfect record, swept 25 of its 32 opponents this season under Cook. With his success at Nebraska this season, Cook, the head coach at Wisconsin from 1992 to 1998, has improved his career record to 193-73.

Cook is the second Husker volleyball coach to be recognized as the AVCA Coach of the Year. His predecessor, Terry Pettit, won the award in 1986 and 1994. In order to be a candidate for the award, a coach must win coach of the year in his or her region. Other candidates for the 2000 honor were Jolene Nagel of Duke, Pete Waite of Wisconsin, Nancy Mueller of South Florida, Jojit Coronel of George Washington, Jerritt Elloit of Southern California, Mary Wise of Florida and John Dunning of Pacific.

"When I first started coaching, I could never have predicted that I would be a volleyball coach of the year," Cook said in his acceptance speech before the approximately 300 AVCA members in attendance at the banquet in Richmond, Va. "I wanted to be a football coach, but the only way I could get a teaching job was to coach volleyball. That was my introduction to the sport.

"Now, I look around this room and see so many coaches who I have learned from. I hope that I can continue to be that kind of role model to the younger coaches here. I want to continue to represent the team and the university well. This really means a lot."

Nebraska athletic director Bill Byrne, who traveled to Richmond for Nebraska's Final Four match against Hawaii at 5 p.m. (CST) today, said Cook's honor came as no surprise.

"One could hardly imagine that in his first year, John Cook would win such a prestigious award," Byrne said. "But that's just the kind of coach he is. I am thrilled for him, and I am thrilled for the team. But most of all, I am thrilled for the future, because with John Cook at the helm, Nebraska volleyball is going to remain Nebraska volleyball. And I think that's very exciting."

Cook, 43, took over the Husker program after serving as Nebraska's associate head coach in 1999. Cook came to Nebraska after serving as head coach at the University of Wisconsin for seven seasons. Cook was also an assistant coach under Pettit for three seasons from 1988 to 1991.

During his tenure at Wisconsin, Cook built the Badger program into a top-10 program during his seven-year career in Madison, including back-to-back trips to the NCAA regional finals in 1997 and 1998. In 1998, Cook's Badgers fell to the Huskers in a three-hour, five-game battle in the Pacific Regional Championship in the Nebraska Coliseum. Wisconsin ended the season ranked seventh in the final USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll after compiling a 30-5 overall record.

Cook compiled a 161-73 record at the helm of the Badgers, including an 89-51league mark in one of the nation's toughest conferences. He was named the Big Ten Co-Coach and AVCA District 2 Coach of the Year after leading the Badgers to a share of the 1997 Big 10 title with a 19-1 mark and school-record 30-3 overall record. In his seven years as head coach, the Badgers advanced to six straight postseason tournaments. Wisconsin qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998. In 1995, Wisconsin won the National Invitational Volleyball Championship with a perfect 6-0 record.

During his tenure at UW, he coached four All-Americans, nine AVCA All-District award winners, 11 All-Big Ten honorees and two Big Ten Freshmen of the Year. He also coached 21 Academic All-Big 10 selections during his seven seasons.

As the first assistant coach with the United States Men's National Volleyball team, Cook aided the U.S. to a bronze medal in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. The team's defensive coordinator, he was also in charge of scouting and supervising the team's flexibility, strength and conditioning programs.

A co-founder of the San Diego Volleyball Club, Cook served as a coach with the club from 1986 to 1988. The club won two Southern California Regional Championships and finished among the final four teams twice in the USVBA Junior Olympics for girls 18 and under. Cook also served as the head assistant coach at the University of California-San Diego from 1983 to 1984 where he aided the Tritons to an NCAA Division III national championship in 1984 and a second-place national finish in 1983.

A graduate of the University of San Diego, Cook earned his bachelor's degree in history in 1979. He completed his master's degree in teaching and coaching effectiveness from San Diego State in 1991. Cook and his wife Wendy, a former two-time All-America setter at San Diego State, are the parents of two children, Lauren and Taylor.