John G. Cook (born April 19, 1956) is an American volleyball coach who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In twenty-five seasons at NU, he has led the Huskers to four national championships (2000, 2006, 2015, 2017) and thirteen conference titles. Prior to Nebraska, Cook served as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers for seven seasons. He earned his 800th career win in 2022 and ranks twelfth all-time in coaching wins in major college volleyball history. Cook is a three-time AVCA National Coach of the Year.

Early life

Cook graduated from the University of San Diego, earning a bachelor's degree in history in 1979. He received a master's degree in teaching and coaching effectiveness from San Diego State in 1991.

Coaching career

Early career

After finishing his undergraduate degree, Cook took a job teaching geography at his high school alma mater Francis Parker School, a private institution in San Diego. The job required him to coach three girls' sports — basketball, softball, and volleyball – in addition to his teaching duties. 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 a quick learner; he had a 162–18 record in six seasons as Parker's volleyball coach, which included a ninety-match winning streak and two state championships. While still coaching at Parker, Cook served as the head assistant coach at UC San Diego in 1983 and 1984, where he aided the Tritons to a second-place national finish in 1983 and an NCAA Division III national championship the next year. He was hired as an assistant coach at Nebraska in 1989.

Wisconsin

Cook was hired as Wisconsin's fifth full-time head coach in 1992, and three years later won the program's second National Invitational Volleyball Championship. He was named Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year and AVCA District 2 Coach of the Year after leading the Badgers to a share of the 1997 Big Ten title and school-record 30–3 record. The Badgers advanced to a postseason tournament in Cook's final six years at the school, including five NCAA Division I tournament appearances. Cook coached four All-Americans, nine AVCA All-District award winners, and eleven All-Big Ten honorees during his tenure at UW. Cook accepted an assistant coaching position at Nebraska following the 1998 season, with the understanding he would succeed the retiring Terry Pettit in 2000. Cook departed Wisconsin as the school's all-time wins leader, with a record of 161–73 across seven seasons.

Nebraska

Cook succeeded Terry Pettit as the head coach at Nebraska in 2000; NU went 34–0 and won its second national championship in Cook's first season. Over the following twenty-three seasons he has guided the Huskers to three more national titles (2006, 2015, 2017) and seven other national semifinal appearances. 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 AVCA Division I National Coach of the Year in 2000, 2005, and 2023 and has won conference coach of the year six times across the Big 12 and Big Ten. He was awarded the USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award in 2008 and was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2017. Cook has coached three AVCA National Players of the Year at NU – (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. In 2023, Cook and Nebraska hosted Omaha at Memorial Stadium in what was termed "Volleyball Day in Nebraska"; the event's official attendance was 92,003, the highest ever recorded at a women's sporting event.

Personal life

Cook and his wife Wendy, a former two-time All-America setter at San Diego State, are the parents of daughter Lauren and son Taylor. They own a horse named Bud. Lauren was the starting setter for UCLA in 2009 and garnered National Freshman of the Year honors before transferring to Nebraska and finishing her career there.

Head coaching record

Awards and honors

Single-season awards

Career awards

Career achievements