NU regents approve naming arena inside Bob Devaney Center after John Cook

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Longtime Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook’s name will be forever enshrined at the Bob Devaney Center.

On Friday, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents unanimously approved naming the arena inside the Devaney Center after Cook.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska Legislature honors former Husker volleyball coach John Cook

The donor-funded project, which is estimated to cost around $400,000, includes a bronze statue of Cook and updated signage.

The statue will be built outside of the Devaney Center.

“John’s success as the leader of our volleyball program is unmatched,” Athletic Director Troy Dannen said in a press release. “His impact goes beyond what his teams accomplished on the court, from our athletic department, our university, community and state of Nebraska. To recognize John in a manner that will be visible for generations to come is a fitting honor.”

NU Regent Jim Scheer said the project had been in the works for about six months when Cook announced that he would be retiring after 25 years.

“We were trying to acknowledge his service, and then he decided to pull the chain, although it worked out well,” Scheer said.

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Cook called the renaming “an incredible honor.”

“I am truly humbled by all of it,” he said in the release. “I am so grateful to Troy, the entire Nebraska administration and the Board of Regents for this recognition. The Bob Devaney Sports Center and Terry Pettit Court are named after two legendary coaches, and it’s an honor to be able to share the name of the facility with them. And to have a statue outside the arena just blows my mind. I’m so thankful for the run we had at Nebraska, and I know the program is in great hands moving forward. I continue to be amazed at the amount of support and all the messages I’ve received from Husker Nation since retiring in January. All of this just reaffirms what I’ve always said: There is No Place Like Nebraska.”

Tonia Tauke, a former Husker volleyball player who was coached by both Cook and Pettit said it means a lot to add another name to such a historic place.

“Having coach Pettit as a coach, and his name’s on the floor, and having coach Cook as a coach, and his name’s on the arena, I mean, I feel like a lot of the alumni feel like they’re part of the building blocks of the program.”

The new John Cook Arena signage and the bronze statue will be unveiled later this year.

Tauke suggested that two more statues that could join Cook’s: Jordan Larson’s and Mikaela Foecke’s.

“That got to be the next step, right?” she said.