Terry Pettit is an American retired

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

coach. He was the head women's volleyball coach at

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

from 1977 to 1999, where he led the Cornhuskers to the school's first NCAA national championship in 1995 by defeating

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in the final. He led the team to 21 Big Eight and

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

conference championships in his 23 seasons as head coach and established Nebraska as one of the most decorated programs in the sport of volleyball.

Early life

Terry Pettit is a published poet who earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Arkansas, after earning a B.S. in English from

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He attended graduate school in theology and worked as a reporter for the Church of the Brethren before teaching English and coaching volleyball and tennis at

Louisburg College Louisburg College is a private Methodist-affiliated two-year college in Louisburg, North Carolina. History Louisburg College has its roots in two schools: Franklin Male Academy, which was chartered in 1787, re-chartered in 1802 but held it ...

, in Louisburg, North Carolina.

At Nebraska

Terry Pettit was Nebraska's second head coach, and from 1977 to 1999 he built the Cornhuskers into a national power. He led the program to its first

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

(1995), two national runner-up finishes (1986, 1989), and three other national semifinal appearances (1990, 1996, 1998). Pettit earned 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1982 through 1999, and won the Big 8/Big 12 every year except 1993, and 1997, guiding the Huskers to a 694–148 record in his 23 years. He was named the Big 8/Big 12 Coach of the Year in 1985 – 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994 – 1996, and 1998, and the AVCA National Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1994. Pettit was the recipient of the USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award in 2004. Under his tutelage, Karen Dahlgren was named National Player of the Year in 1986 and Allison Weston was named

National Player of the Year National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in 1995. Nebraska led the nation in both

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and Academic All-American selections during his tenure.

Legacy

Pettit built one of the most tradition-rich and powerful volleyball programs in NCAA history. To this day,

has sold out over 300 consecutive games between the

Nebraska Coliseum The Nebraska Coliseum (sometimes referred to as the NU Coliseum or The Coliseum) is an indoor coliseum on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was the home of Nebraska's men's basketball team from 1926 to ...

and

Bob Devaney Sports Center The Bob Devaney Sports Center (commonly referred to as the Devaney Center) is a sports complex on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. The facility, opened in 1976 as the NU Sports Complex, was named for footb ...

, and participated in the nine highest-attended volleyball games in NCAA history. At the top of this list is Nebraska's victory over the

University of Nebraska at Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public university, public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Omaha, Nebraska), Omaha Presbyterian Theological ...

on August 30, 2023 when 92,003 fans watched the Cornhuskers defeat the

Omaha Mavericks The Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska Omaha. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in the Summit League, except in ice hockey, where they compete in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Hist ...

3–0 for the World Record for a women’s sporting event at Memorial Stadium in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. In December 2008 Pettit authored "Talent and the Secret Life of Teams," a collection of essays, columns, and creative writing on leadership and team-building based on his career as a coach and director of leadership academies at

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

, the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

, and

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

. In December 2013 Pettit authored a second book, "A Fresh Season – Insights Into Coaching, Leadership and Volleyball." On September 6, 2013,

played their inaugural match in the newly renovated

which became their new home after playing its first 37 seasons in the historic

from 1975 to 2012. To mark the occasion of the team's move to the newly renovated facility, Terry Pettit was honored with a court-naming ceremony during the match against

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

. ''Terry Pettit Court'' is etched along the sideline on the southwest side of the court. In 2020, Pettit was inducted into Nebraska's athletic hall of fame.

Head coaching record

The Big 12 does not play conference tournaments.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pettit, Terry 1946 births Living people American volleyball coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball coaches Manchester University (Indiana) alumni Writers from Nebraska