Nebraska Honors John Cook with Statue Outside Devaney Center

LINCOLN—Upon first hearing Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen’s idea to build a statue for him, John Cook was against it.

But Dannen didn’t give him a choice.

On Thursday, Nebraska unveiled a statue of the former NU volleyball coach on the north side of the newly christened John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Several hundred boosters, administrators, and former players were present for the ceremony, along with the current Huskers, almost all of whom Cook recruited to play at Nebraska.

While standing next to a bronze replica of his likeness, Cook joked that the decision to put up a statue was made long before he decided to retire earlier this year, and he didn’t want to coach in an arena with his statue outside. He said the statue is a testament to the university’s value for volleyball.

“Nebraska is the epicenter of volleyball in this country. It’s only fitting to me that this goes up to honor Nebraska volleyball here, and set the stage for the rest of the country,” Cook said. “We value Nebraska volleyball here. It’s important. It’s a big deal, and we’re putting up all this to make sure it’s a symbol for all that. It still blows my mind, to be honest with you, that they’ve done this.”

John Cook admires his new statue next to sculptor George Lundeen. | Nebraska Athletics

While many of the venues around campus are named for former coaches and administrators, Cook is just the third former coach at Nebraska to have a statue erected on campus, joining football coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne.

Statues for coaches in women’s sports are still relatively rare. Tennessee built one for basketball coach Pat Summitt, and the city of Columbia, South Carolina, unveiled one for Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley. In addition, Western Kentucky has announced plans to build a statue of Travis Hudson, who is in his 31st year with the Hilltoppers.

During the idea generation phase, the athletic department sent him several photos to base the design on. Cook was instantly drawn to one from the Volleyball Day in Nebraska. Everyone quickly agreed with him.

“That has to go down as one of the best days for women’s sport, not even just volleyball, ever,” current Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “To have that commemorated out here so we can always remember, I think that’s pretty special.”

Former Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook poses next to his stature with his successor Dani Busboom Kelly. | Nebraska Athletics

The sculptor, George Lundeen, wanted to put a cowboy hat on it to represent his cowboy hobby, but the idea was nixed. However, Lundeen snuck a real hat on the statue before it was draped with a red covering. (The hat was removed soon after the unveiling.)

At the unveiling ceremony, Dannen called Cook the “best volleyball coach in our country” and spoke to the legacy of Cook during his 25 years at Nebraska. While the four national championships, 14 conference titles, and dozens of All-Americans coached are impressive, he said Cook set himself apart through his adaptability, empowering others, and promoting the sport.

Dannen said when Cook started at Nebraska, he mailed recruiting letters and called prospects on a rotary phone. When he retired, Cook had become a TikTok sensation. He also cited the fact that three of his former players — Busboom Kelly, Lindsay (Wischmeier) Peterson, and Kelly (Hunter) Natter — are now leading the program.

“Women’s athletics in this country is different today than it was when you started, because of the legacy you leave behind in all of those ways, above and beyond the wins,” he said.

John Cook stands next to his statues and speaks with the 2025 Huskers. | Nebraska Athletics

After University of Nebraska president Jeffrey Gold thanked Cook, NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly talked about how grateful she was to call Cook her coach, colleague, and friend.

She was impressed that he always opened up his practice gym so college, high school and club coaches could learn from what the Huskers were doing. He constantly gave speeches to clubs and groups and sought out ways to improve the sport.

“What I’ve learned from him is to continue to make our sport better and bigger, and to dream big and to not give up,” Busboom Kelly said. “I really appreciate John leading the way for that and empowering us to continue to lead the way.”

When he took the microphone, Cook talked about the moments that stand out in his career. From getting into coaching volleyball at his first teaching job, stopping in Ogallala on his way to Lincoln to become an assistant coach and almost regretting stopping upwind from a feed lot, and Terry Pettit telling him he wanted Cook to come back to take over the program. He recalled his desire to turn the volleyball program into a revenue-generating sport so he wouldn’t have to rely upon football boosters to cover the cost of a foreign trip.

He shared that he kept a rosary in his pocket, which he received from a priest at Lincoln Pius X while watching one of his daughter’s matches in 2005. He talked about how he received a text from Dani Mancuso at 2:11 in the morning on the day of the national championship match against Stanford in 2006, which told him to “Dream big,” a phrase that Cook would adopt as his personal motto.

Cook recalled trying to calm Osborne down after he said he didn’t want to move into Devaney, Beating Texas in 2015, and two Penn State players tripping on match point in the 2017 national semifinals that allowed the Huskers to stay alive and come back.

John Cook with his wife, Wendy, in front of the new statue outside of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. | Nebraska Athletics

Cook closed his speech by thanking his wife.

“None of this happens without my wife, Wendy, none of it,” he said while fighting through emotions. “She raised our kids. She put up with my crap all the time. She had to go through the highs and lows of coaching. Wendy, thank you for your support.”

More From Nebraska on SI

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.