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Bio

Four-time national champion Nebraska Volleyball Head Coach John Cook has won more matches than any Division I volleyball coach this century. Across 32 years as a college head coach — seven at Wisconsin and 25 at Nebraska — consistent excellence was the hallmark of his programs.

Since taking over Nebraska in 2000, Cook guided the Huskers to four national championships, 12 NCAA Semifinal appearances, nine Big 12 titles and five Big Ten titles. He compiled a career record of 883-176 (.834), the fifth-best winning percentage all-time for a Division I volleyball coach. His Nebraska mark of 722-103 is the best winning percentage (.875) of any DI program over the last 25 years.

With Cook at the helm, Nebraska produced five Olympians, a Honda-Broderick Cup winner, three AVCA National Players of the Year, 72 AVCA All-Americans, three Academic All-Americans of the Year, 25 Academic All-Americans and 10 conference players of the year. His student-athletes combined for 88 all-conference awards and 155 academic all-conference honors.

Cook lived out his mantra at Nebraska: Dream Big. When he took the reins in 2000, he was replacing one of the sport’s legendary coaches in Terry Pettit. Cook left an emerging power at Wisconsin to guide the tradition-rich Husker program because he saw something others didn’t — a program with even more potential to grow.

In 2023, Cook took a chance on playing a volleyball match outdoors in a football stadium. The result was historic: 92,003 people packed Memorial Stadium for Volleyball Day in Nebraska, setting a record for the largest crowd to attend a women’s sporting event anywhere in the world. Eleven of the top 12 crowds in NCAA women’s volleyball history have been Nebraska matches, all during Cook’s tenure.

Fan support under Cook is unrivaled in the sport. The Huskers have sold out 337 consecutive regular-season matches since 2001 — the longest sellout streak in NCAA women’s athletics history — and have led the nation in attendance every season since moving to the Devaney Center in 2013.

A three-time AVCA National Coach of the Year (2000, 2005, 2023) and eight-time conference coach of the year, Cook received USA Volleyball’s All-Time Great Coach Award in 2008 and was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2017. Today he brings the same philosophy that built a dynasty to organizations, leaders, and teams everywhere.

Keynote Topics

Keynote #1 : Dream Big, Dream Like a Champion

Coach Cook shares the coaching philosophy and hard-won lessons behind one of the most successful programs in college sports history. Drawing on four national championships and a quarter-century at the top of his sport, he reveals how the beliefs, standards, and daily habits that build championship teams translate directly to any organization chasing excellence.

In addition to delivering this message to coaches and athletes, Cook offers a version designed for businesses, associations, educational institutions, and non-profits — connecting the philosophies, beliefs, and values found in successful coaches to those found in successful business leaders.

Call or text Neal at (720) 498 -3275 or email neal@infinitespeakers.com to place a calendar hold or book John for your next event today.