Five distinguished student-athletes and one legendary head coach make up the 2020 University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame class, who will be announced individually over the next three weeks. The first announced member of this years class is Terry Pettit, who coached the Nebraska volleyball team for 23 seasons from 1977 to 1999. Pettit is the lone coach in the 2020 Hall of Fame class, and he is the fourth coach to be enshrined in the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame, joining football coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne and mens gymnastics head coach Francis Allen.
Pettit was not only one of the greatest volleyball coaches in NCAA history, he was also instrumental in building a Husker program that ranks among the top three programs in NCAA history in NCAA Tournament appearances (3rd – 38), NCAA Tournament wins (2nd – 116) and NCAA championships (3rd – 5). Pettit was also the driving force behind cultivating Nebraskas loyal fan base, which has sold out 270 consecutive regular-season matches and has led the nation in attendance each of the last seven seasons. In his 23-year career, Pettit led Nebraska to 21 conference titles and the 1995 national championship. He was a two-time national and nine-time conference coach of the year. His .820 career winning percentage (694-148-12) ranks seventh all-time among NCAA Division I coaches.
In 2009, he was inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The five student-athletes in the 2020 Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame Class will be announced over the next three weeks on the official Nebraska Athletics Twitter account.
