WATCH: Nebraska Volleyball Coach John Cook's Emotional Retirement Press Conference

John Cook met with the media Thursday to discuss his retirement after 25 years as head coach of Nebraska volleyball.
Enrique Alvarez-Clarey

An emotional John Cook took the mic Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after announcing his retirement as the head coach of Nebraska volleyball.

Cook began by referencing the Neil Young song "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" with the lyrics "it's better to burn out than to fade away". Cook said he approached everything by going as hard as he could and that the time would be right when he felt like he had had enough.

"That's what happened last week," Cook said.

Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook at his retirement press conference on Jan. 30, 2025.
Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook at his retirement press conference. / Enrique Alvarez-Clarey

A college head coach for 32 years, including 25 at Nebraska, Cook's thought immediately turned to family.

"My daughter's having another baby; that's also part of it," Cook said. "I've missed a lot with my kids
, but I want to be there for those grandkids."

Cook said a few years ago, while out to dinner with his former player and assistant Dani Busboom Kelly, then the head coach of Louisville, Busboom Kelly let him know she had put a clause into her new contract that she wouldn't have a buyout to take the job at Nebraska.

"I said 'so that means you want to come back' and she said 'yeah' and
so that's kind of where started," Cook said.

Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook donned a cowboy hat to meet with reporters after his retirement press conference on Jan.
Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook donned a cowboy hat to meet with reporters after his retirement press conference. / Enrique Alvarez-Clarey

Cook said he is proud to be able to hand the program over to a coach who grew up in Nebraska, played at Nebraska, and assisted him for several years.

"I get to hire or or hand off this program to a former player, somebody from Nebraska," Cook said. "To me, the greatest accomplishment is somebody who's played here gets to be the head coach here. Having these guys play here and their experience, that they want to come back and be coaches and keep this thing going - to me, that's my greatest accomplishment."

Cook also talked about the fans selling out the Coliseum and the Bob Devaney Sports Center, the stadium match, the process of the last week, and an idea of what he'll be doing with the athletic department going forward.

You can watch the full press conference below.


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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.