Terry Pettit

Terry Pettit is a retired American volleyball coach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 1975-1999 where he led his team to the schools first NCAA National Championship in 1995 by defeating Texas in the final. He also led the team to 21 conference championships (most were Big 8) as the head coach and established arguably one of the most decorated traditions in the sport of volleyball.

Early life

Pettit is a published poet who earned an MFA in creative writing, after earning a BS in English from Manchester College in Indiana. He attended graduate school in theology and worked as a reporter for the Church of the Brethren before teaching English at Louisburg College, in Louisburg, North Carolina.

At Nebraska

Under Pettit, he led the team to three NCAA Runner-up finishes in 1986 and 1989 before taking home the big crown in 1995, as well as final four appearances in 1990, 1996, and 1998. Under his coaching, he led one of his players to the prestigious AVCA National Player of the Year honor, for Allison Weston in 1995.

Pettit earned AVCA National Coach of the Year honors in 1986 and 1994. Under Pettit, Nebraska dominated the Big 8 (now Big 12), as they won the title every year under his coaching except for his first year in 1975 and 1993. After the Big 12 replaced the Big 8, he led the team to the 1996, 1998 and 1999 titles. He also led the team to NCAA tournament appearances from 1982-1999, picking up 43 tournament victories in the process. Nebraska also led the nation in All-American and Academic All-American selections.

Legacy

Pettit built one of the most tradition rich volleyball programs in NCAA history. This is evidenced by up to present, Nebraska's women's volleyball team has had consecutive sellouts at the Nebraska Coliseum for years, and an NCAA record 17,209 Husker fans watched Nebraska defeat Stanford at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska for the NCAA title in 2006.

External Links

* [http://www.terrypettit.com/ TerryPettit.com]