Huskers say farewell to legend, hire new coach on same day
INCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska women’s volleyball coach John Cook, who won four NCAA titles in 25 seasons with the Cornhuskers, announced his retirement Wednesday.
Former Nebraska player and assistant Dani Busboom Kelly will take over the Huskers program after eight seasons leading Louisville.
“It’s been a great run,” Cook, 68, said in a statement released by Nebraska. “I want to thank my family for their support ... I’ve had the opportunity to work with some great coaches and staff over the years, and I’m forever grateful for how hard they worked and for how much they gave to Nebraska volleyball.”
Busboom Kelly, 39, was a key player for the 2006 Huskers team that won the national championship in Omaha, Nebraska. She was a setter and a libero during her college playing career.
John Cook: A Winning Recipe
• 4 NCAA championships (2000, 2006, 2015, 2017)
• 12 NCAA Final Four appearances
• 9 Big 12 titles and 5 Big Ten titles
• Career record of 883-176 (.834), 5th-best winning pct. all time in D-I
• Nebraska record of 722-103, best winning pct. (.875) for any D-I program in last 25 years
• At Nebraska, coached 5 Olympians, a Honda-Broderick Cup winner, 3 AVCA D-I National Players of the Year, 72 AVCA All-Americans, 25 Academic All-Americans and 10 conference players of year
Busboom Kelly was Cook’s assistant in 2015, when Nebraska also won the NCAA title in Omaha.
A Nebraska native, Busboom Kelly took over at Louisville in 2017 and went 203-43 with the Cardinals, leading them to the Final Four three times.
That included national championship match appearances in 2022, when the Cardinals lost to Texas, and in 2024, when they fell to Penn State.
Busboom Kelly’s Cardinals won or shared the ACC title four times, and she was AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2021, when Louisville made the Final Four for the first time in program history.
Busboom Kelly agreed to a six-year contract with Nebraska, the school announced.
“The opportunity to come home to Nebraska is more than a dream come true,” she said in a statement. “A huge thank you to John Cook. I would not be here without his mentorship and support.”