John Cook (coach)

John G. Cook (born April 19, 1956) is an American volleyball head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team, who is in his 23rd season as head coach in 2022. He has led the Huskers to four national championships, in 2000 by defeating Wisconsin, in 2006 by defeating Stanford, in 2015 by defeating Texas, and in 2017 by defeating Florida. He is a two-time winner of the AVCA National Coach of the Year award. Prior to becoming head coach at Nebraska, Cook served as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, compiling a 161–73 record over seven seasons. On September 23, 2022 he earned his 800th career coaching win, a feat only 29 other coaches in NCAA volleyball history have achieved.[1]

John Cook
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamNebraska
ConferenceBig Ten
Record656–98 (.870)
Annual salary$675,000
Biographical details
Born (1956-04-19) April 19, 1956
Chula Vista, California
Alma materSan Diego
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1983–1984UCSD (asst.)
1981–1988Francis Parker HS
1989–1991Nebraska (asst.)
1992–1998Wisconsin
1999Nebraska (AHC)
2000–presentNebraska
National
1992USA (asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall809–171 (.826)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4x NCAA national champions (2000, 2006, 2015, 2017)

9x Big 12 regular season champions (2000–2002, 2004–2008, 2010)

4x Big Ten regular season champions (1997, 2011, 2016, 2017)
Awards
2x AVCA National Coach of the Year (2000, 2005)

5x AVCA Region Coach of the Year (1997, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2016)
3x Big Ten Coach of the Year (1997, 2016, 2017)
4x Big 12 Coach of the Year (2001, 2005, 2008, 2010)
Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year (2008)
USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award(2008)

AVCA Hall of Fame (2017)

Early life

Cook graduated from the University of San Diego, earning 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.

Coaching career

Francis Parker School

After Cook's college graduation, he got a job teaching geography at his high school alma mater of Francis Parker School, a private institution in San Diego. The job provided him with a free apartment, but also required him to coach three girls' sports—basketball, softball, and volleyball. According to ESPN journalist Elizabeth Merrill, "He knew little about volleyball, and had to read books to get a grasp on the basics." Cook proved to be a quick learner; in six seasons as Parker's volleyball coach, he had a 162–18 record, including a 90-match winning streak and two state championships.[2]

UC San Diego

While still coaching at Parker, Cook served as the head assistant coach at the University of California, San Diego from 1983 to 1984, where he aided the Tritons to a second-place national finish in 1983 and an NCAA Division III national championship the next year.

Wisconsin

John Cook was hired in 1992 to coach Wisconsin. In seven years as head coach he had a record of 161–73 before resigning to accept the Nebraska position. 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. The Badgers advanced to a postseason tournament in Cook's final six years at the school, including NCAA appearances 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, two Big Ten Freshmen of the Year, and 21 Academic All-Big 10 selections.

Nebraska

Cook succeeded Terry Pettit in 2000 as the coach at Nebraska. Cook has guided the Huskers to four national championships (2000, 2006, 2015, 2017), three national runner-up finishes (2005, 2018, 2021), and three other national semifinal appearances (2001, 2008, 2016). Cook has made the NCAA tournament in each of his years at Nebraska (the Cornhuskers have appeared in every NCAA tournament since its inception in 1982). Cook was named the AVCA Division I National Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2005, the AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year in 1997 (Wisconsin), 2000, 2005, and 2008 as well as the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year in 2001, 2005, and 2008. He was also awarded the USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award in 2008.

At Nebraska, Cook has coached three AVCA National Players of the Year (Greichaly Cepero in 2000, Christina Houghtelling in 2005 and Sarah Pavan in 2006). Pavan also won the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2007 as the Collegiate Female Athlete of the Year.

Personal life

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. Lauren was the starting setter for UCLA during the 2009 season and garnered National Freshman of the Year honors.[3] She transferred to Nebraska in 2010 and finished her career there in 2012 as an All-American.[4]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten Conference) (1992–1998)
1992 Wisconsin 14–179–117th
1993 Wisconsin 19–1311–95thNCAA second round
1994 Wisconsin 21–1211–95thNCAA first round
1995 Wisconsin 22–159–117th
1996 Wisconsin 25–813–75thNCAA regional semifinals
1997 Wisconsin 30–319–1T–1stNCAA regional final
1998 Wisconsin 30–517–32ndNCAA regional final
Wisconsin: 161–73 (.688)89–51 (.636)
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 12 Conference) (2000–2010)
2000 Nebraska 34–020–01stNCAA national champions
2001 Nebraska 31–220–01stNCAA final four
2002 Nebraska 31–220–01stNCAA regional final
2003 Nebraska 28–517–32ndNCAA regional semifinal
2004 Nebraska 30–220–01stNCAA regional final
2005 Nebraska 33–219–11stNCAA runner-up
2006 Nebraska 33–119–11stNCAA national champions
2007 Nebraska 30–219–1T–1stNCAA regional final
2008 Nebraska 31–318–2T–1stNCAA final four
2009 Nebraska 26–716–43rdNCAA regional Final
2010 Nebraska 29–319–11stNCAA regional semifinal
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big Ten Conference) (2011–Present)
2011 Nebraska 25–517–31stNCAA second round
2012 Nebraska 26–715–5T–2ndNCAA regional final
2013 Nebraska 26–716–42ndNCAA regional final
2014 Nebraska 23–1014–64thNCAA regional final
2015 Nebraska 32–417–32ndNCAA national champions
2016 Nebraska 31–318–21stNCAA final four
2017 Nebraska 32–419–1T–1stNCAA national champions
2018 Nebraska 29–715–5T–3rdNCAA runner-up
2019 Nebraska 28–517–3T–2ndNCAA regional final
2020 Nebraska 16–314–23rdNCAA regional final
2021 Nebraska 26–815–42ndNCAA runner-up
2022 Nebraska 26–616–42ndNCAA regional semifinal
2023 Nebraska 19-010-0
Nebraska: 675–98 (.873)410–55 (.882)
Total:828–171 (.829)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Awards and honors

Single-season awards
  • AVCA Division I Central Region Coach of the Year: 1997, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2016
  • AVCA Coach of the Year: 2000, 2005
  • Big Ten Coach of the Year: 1997 (co), 2016, 2017
  • Big 12 Coach of the Year: 2001, 2005, 2008, 2010
  • Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year: 2008

Career awards
  • AVCA Hall of Fame (2017)
  • USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach (2008)

Career achievements
  • 4 national championships (2000, 2006, 2015, 2017)
  • 7 national finals (2000, 2005, 2006, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021)
  • 10 national semifinals (2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021)
  • 13 conference championships
  • 18 top-10 finishes
  • 52 All-Americans coached at Nebraska

References
  1. https://www.1011now.com/2022/09/24/huskers-sweep-spartans-cooks-800th-career-win/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. Merrill, Elizabeth (August 29, 2023). "How Nebraska volleyball plans to pack Memorial Stadium". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  3. "Player Bio: Lauren Cook - UCLA Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
  4. "Lauren Cook - 2012 - Volleyball".
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