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NOTICE TO STUDENTS
All students are eligible to apply for a refund ^ '
of the "A" portion of their student fees beginning
January 10 and ending February 4,2000. Students
claiming a refund will lose benefits provided by
Fund "A" users during the spring semester, 1999-2000.
(See box at right.)
Application forms are available at the f
Student Organization Financial Services office,
Room 222, Nebraska Union; and the ASUN office,
115 Nebraska Union. Applicants should return the form
in person to 222 Nebraska Union or 300 Nebraska
East Union. Students must bring their
UNL student ID cards when returning the application.
Students who are unable to return their application in
person to the Student Organization Financial Services
office should contact Dan Paez, 222 Nebraska Union,
472-2154, on or before February 4,2000, to make
arrangements.__
Students who complete a refund application
and return it on or before February 4, 2000,
will be mailed a check for the amount of the
refund claimed. Refund checks will be mailed
between the dates of February 7-11,2000.
Students claiming a refund will lose certain
benefits provided by the above Fund "A" users.
For details on which benefits may be lost, please
refer to the cover sheet on the refund application.
Congratulations
From
Valentino’s and Vniversity housing
Jami Kitten
Schramm Hall
Michael Plouzek
Harper Hall
Winner of Free Tuition
and Books
for this semester
Winner of Free Tuition
. for this semester
Other winners in the Residence Hail drawing held Dec 2:
Free Books: Steve Anderson
$100 Valentino’s card: Elizabeth Wilbrand
$50 Valentino's eard: Lauren Kish
Pettit reitres, leaving
legacy of winning •
PETl'iT from page 24
ended a 26-year coaching career (he
coached three seasons at Louisburg
Junior College in North Carolina
before coming to NU) with a 743-159
11 overall record and 694-148-11
record at Nebraska. That included a
253-15 Big Eight/Big 12 mark, a 41
11 NCAA Tournament record and a
355-28 mark at home.
Pettit spoke about his gratitude
toward UNL and its athletic depart
ment over the last 25 years, the enjoy
ment of developing players and the
Nebraska volleyball community that
has provided the program with count
less recruits every year.
“I think my most important recruit
was recruiting John Cook to follow
me in on this,” Pettit said.
For Cook, who was also an assis
tant under Pettit from 1988-90, replac
ing an icon and taking over the tradi
tion-rich program was a “dream come
true.” In seven years, he built
Wisconsin into a national power,
sporting a lOJ-/1
record and back-to- ,
back trips to the
regional finals in
his final two years
there.
In his 'Tinal
game at the helm
for the Badgers,
Cook nearly
stopped Pettit’s
team on the road to
their sixth final four
by taking NU to
five sets in the 1998
Pacific Regional
Final in Lincoln.
“I knew this day
was coming, and it’s
been very emotion
al for me,” Cook,
said.
“One of the rea
sons I’m here is
because Terry asked
me to come back.
He’s my friend, he’s
my meiitor and in
some ways, he’s my
father. The fact that
he asked me to
come back and do
this - something
that is so important to him - it just
really means a lot.
“I know what shoes I have to fill
here. I know there’s going to be some
pressure with it. That’s what I’m going
to tell myself next year when I feel that
pressure - you have to embrace it. I
really feel that pressure, and the
expectations of the program will help
me become a better coach and be suc
cessful here.”
A challenge indeed. Pettit took
over a two-year-old program in 1977,
when Title IX and university budgets
started allowing - and the public start
ed accepting - official intercollegiate
athletic competition for women.
He quickly brought success and
top volleyball recruits from the
Midwest and national attention tocthe
program in the early 1980s, evaporat
ing the common belief that the West
Coast was the only dominant volley
ball region. Pettit’s vital statistics
include one national title, six final
four appearances, 34 All-Americans
and 19 Academic All-Americans.
Many fellow coaches, including
Texas A&M’s Laurie Corbelli,
Baylor’s Brian Hosfield and Texas’
Jim Moore called Pettit nothing short
of a “legend.”
Some say Pettit’s last season of
coaching may have been his best work
despite the fact NU failed to make its
fourth final four appearance in five
seasons. Constantly rotating a lineup
'/ /
I didn’t want
to go to the
University of
Missouri or the
University of
Oklahoma and
have the focus
be that this is
Terry Pettit s
last match at
Oklahoma and
Missouri.’’
Terry Pettit
Former NU volleyball coach
of a team that lost two All-Americans
from 1998, Pettit took thenlow-start
ing Huskers to a come-frefm-behind
Big 12 title, as they won 12 of their
last 13 matches.
And with a squad full of young tal
ent returning, it was tempting for Pettit
to come back and give a run at a sec
ond national championship. But his
urge to hand the reigns over to Cook
convinced him 1999 would be his last
season. He deferred to announce his
plan until the season was over.
“I didn’t want to go to the
University of Missouri or the
University of Oklahoma and have the
focus be that this is Terry Pettit’s last
match at Oklahoma and Missouri,”
Pettit said.
“I wanted that team to continue to
focus as I was focusing on what need
ed to happen. I’ve known for some
time that I was moving in this direc
tion, but it really would have been a
disservice in my mind if that became
the focus of this season.”
Some of Pettit’s players said they
were somewhat
surprised when he
announced his
retirement in a
post-season team
meeting the day
before his press
conference
announcement.
They knew of the
speculation con
cerning his retire
ment but had a hard
time picturing the
famously intense
and hard-working
Pettit doing any
thing besides
coaching.
“I was sur
prised because I
know how much
coaches love to
develop players,”
senior Tonia Tauke
said. “With the
great freshmen
class that we have
and the seniors next
year, I think it was
hard for him to just
leave it.
“He just stays
up nights and watches tape. He studies
like I study for a test. He has to know
everything, I have to know everything.
That’s his greatest strength. I think
Nebraska volleyball will mils him,
but he’s passing that on to Cook. He%
going to be around. I’m sure he’ll be
watching some video next
year.. .maybe a little.”
Cook said he only hopes to main
tain the level of excellence Pettit sus
tained for so many years and went
back and read articles documenting
Football Coach-Frank Solich wheij,
Solich took over for retiring legend
Tom Osborne in 1998.
But with a championship-caliber
team comingjback and having been
groomed under one of the most
respected and passionate coaches in
college volleyball history, Cook is
confident the program’s success will
continue under his guidance.
Senior co-captain Mandy Monson
agreed, saying that Pettit’s love of the •
game and loyalty to the program
invigorated everyone within it - which
could be his lasting mark.
“I think today is the perfect exam
ple of how he has passion for
Nebraska volleyball,” Monson said. \
“He’s willing to give up something
he loves to make it better. I attribute
the love of the game I gained in col- .
lege and a passion for winning to
Coach Pettit, and he brought that to
Nebraska volleyball.”
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