The greatest coach in Nebraska Athletics history rides off into the sunset. One of his former players and assistants takes over.
John Cook, the four-time national championship coach of Husker volleyball who elevated the program and the sport of volleyball as a whole in his 25 years as Nebraska head coach, announced his retirement Wednesday afternoon through a news release by the Nebraska athletic department. 20 minutes later, another release from the athletic department named the new head coach: Dani Busboom Kelly, who played for the Huskers and Cook from 2003-06 then served as an assistant under Cook from 2012-15.
Cook led Nebraska to a 722-103 record during his 25 years as head coach, a .875 winning percentage that ranked first among any D-1 program. He guided Nebraska to 12 NCAA national semifinals, nine Big 12 championships and five Big Ten championships. Cook led Nebraska to national championships in 2000, 2006, 2015 and 2017. Alongside the achievement on the floor, Cook and the Huskers elevated the program to national prominence. The last 339 home matches have been sold out, despite Nebraska moving from the NU Coliseum with a capacity of 4,030 to the Devaney Center, which was renovated to hold 8,309 fans. In addition, the Huskers have drawn 11 of the 12 largest crowds for an match in NCAA Volleyball history.
But Cook’s impact was clearest on Aug. 30, 2023, when 92,003 fans piled into Memorial Stadium to see the Huskers take on Omaha. The three-set sweep drew the biggest crowd for a women’s sporting event in world history.
Cook took over as Huskers’ head coach in 2000, returning to the school at which he’d served as an assistant from 1989-1991 under Terry Pettit. After working under Pettit, Cook went on to take over as Wisconsin’s head coach. In seven years, Cook built a 161-73 record including five NCAA appearances. In 1999, he was convinced by Pettit to return at NU as associate head coach in preparation to take over as head coach.
Cook hands the program to a former assistant and player: Busboom-Kelly, who came to Nebraska from Freeman High School in 2003. Busboom was the Huskers’ setter for the first three seasons in her NU career, then moved to libero in 2006, serving as a captain for the national champions. Her four-year career record of 124-10 was the best four-year era for the Huskers at the time. After a couple years in private business, Busboom-Kelly entered the coaching field as an assistant for Tennessee in 2009 and 2010. After a year as an assistant at Louisville, Busboom-Kelly returned home to Nebraska. In five years as an assistant, she helped the Huskers win the 2015 national championship. Two years later, Busboom-Kelly was hired as Louisville’s head coach. She led the Cardinals to an ACC Championship her first year. Two years later, Busboom-Kelly started a run of three straight ACC titles. She guided the Cardinals to the NCAA tournament all eight of her years as head coach, including trips to the national semis in 2021, then the national final in 2022. In her final year as the head coach of Louisville, Busboom-Kelly guided the Cardinals to a national final loss in Louisville.
Cook will meet with the media Thursday at the Hawks Championship Center. Busboom-Kelly will be introduced to the fans, then the media, as its new head coach Thursday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. at the Devaney Center.