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Bob Devaney Sports Center

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Coordinates: 40°49′49″N 96°41′52″W / 40.830207°N 96.697644°W / 40.830207; -96.697644
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Bob Devaney Sports Center
"The Bob"
North entrance of the Devaney Center in 2025
Map
Former namesNU Sports Complex
Location1600 Court Street
Lincoln, Nebraska
OwnerUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln
OperatorUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln
Capacity8,309 (volleyball)
5,000 (track & field)
1,000 (aquatics)
SurfaceMulti-surface
Construction
Broke ground1974
OpenedNovember 27, 1976; 49 years ago (1976)
Renovated2013
Construction cost$13 million
($71.8 million in 2024[1])
ArchitectLeo A Daly
Tenants
Nebraska Cornhuskers (NCAA)
Men's basketball (1976–2013)
Women's basketball (1976–2013)
Men's gymnastics (1976–present)
Women's gymnastics (1976–present)
Indoor track and field (1976–present)
Swimming and diving (1976–present)
Volleyball (2013–present)
Wrestling (2013–present)

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 football coach and athletic director Bob Devaney in 1978, and its main arena was dedicated as John Cook Arena in 2025.

The facility was built to replace the smaller NU Coliseum as the university's primary indoor athletic venue. It hosted men's and women's basketball for thirty-seven years until both programs moved off campus in 2013. Volleyball and wrestling relocated to the vacated Devaney Center, which was extensively modernized and had its main arena shrunk to a capacity of approximately 8,000. Nebraska has led collegiate volleyball in attendance each year at the venue. The sprawling complex also hosts gymnastics, indoor track and field, and swimming and diving events.

Background

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Nebraska football coach and athletic director Bob Devaney began campaigning for a new multi-sport arena as early as 1971, earning Board of Regents approval two years later.[2] In 1974, construction began northeast of campus on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds, which would later be purchased by the university from the City of Lincoln.[3] The $13.8-million project was financed using 2.5 of 13 cents allocated to a general university fund from a decades-old state cigarette tax, earning it the nickname "the house that cigarettes built."[4][5]

When it opened in March 1976, the NU Sports Complex replaced the NU Coliseum as the home of most of the university's indoor sports. It had an arena capacity of 15,000,[a] a natatorium capacity of 3,500, and a track capacity of 5,000.[3] Athletic offices and locker rooms were located beneath the southern section of the main arena's bleachers. Two years later, the complex was named for Devaney, who won two national championships as a head coach and served as athletic director until 1992.

Basketball

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Nebraska played its first basketball game at the arena on November 27, 1976, falling to Iowa.[6] The highest attendance recorded at the Devaney Center was 15,038, a 62–54 win over Oklahoma State on February 7, 1981.[7] Much of the program's modest success came under head coach Danny Nee, who remembered the arena fondly: "I was so impressed with how it was designed, and the size was really cool. That building had charisma."[2] NU struggled in the last years of Nee's tenure, and the arena underwent a $7.9-million "Amenities Project" to create a more fan-friendly environment.[5]

From December 1986 to January 1989, Nebraska's women's team won twenty-nine consecutive home games, an arena record.[8] Decades later, an historic 2009–10 season produced the first regular-season sellout in program history, a 67–51 win over Missouri.[8]

The Devaney Center hosted first- and second-round games in the 1980, 1984, and 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments, and first-round women's games in 1993, including Nebraska's first victory in the competition.[8] Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson played preseason NBA games at the arena; during a 1995 game featuring Jordan's Bulls against former NU star Eric Piatkowski and the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago forward Dennis Rodman was called for two technical fouls and ejected to a standing ovation.[8]

West Haymarket Arena (known as Pinnacle Bank Arena for sponsorship purposes) became the home venue for NU's basketball teams in 2013. Nebraska's men's team was 477–148 across thirty-seven years at the Devaney Center.

Hendricks Training Complex

Nebraska's basketball and wrestling teams practice and train at the Hendricks Training Complex in the southwest corner of the Devaney Center. The $18.7-million, 80,000-square foot facility houses a locker room, weight room, and an athletic medicine department.[9]

Volleyball

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Nebraska vs. Penn State at the Devaney Center on Nov. 30, 2013

When construction began on West Haymarket Arena to host basketball, athletic director Tom Osborne led an effort to move volleyball from the NU Coliseum to the vacated Devaney Center, which had previously hosted select games, as well as the entire 1991 season while the Coliseum was being renovated.[10] Head coach John Cook resisted the relocation proposal, relenting when the university committed to a $27-million redevelopment of the facility.[10] Thousands of seats were removed from the main arena, lowering capacity to around 8,000 with luxury suites for boosters and courtside seating for students, and the outdated venue received extensive modernization.[10] The playing surface was dedicated in honor of Terry Pettit in 2013 and the main arena was named for Cook after his retirement in 2025, with a statue to be erected on the north side of the complex.[11]

The arena's listed capacity is 8,309, including standing-room-only areas, though proposed future expansions will raise capacity to nearly 10,000 by 2026.[12] Nebraska has led the country in attendance by a wide margin each year since the move and extended its record 337-match sellout streak.[b][12] The program has consistently turned a profit since moving to the Devaney Center, a rarity in women's sports, peaking at a record $1.3 million in 2023.[13][14]

Other sports

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The main arena at the Devaney Center has hosted gymnastics since 1976, including several conference and national postseason events. In the 1986 NCAA men's championship, judges deliberated for nearly an hour before determining Nebraska had filed an "incorrect inquiry procedure," declaring Arizona State the national champion by less than a point.[8] The Devaney Center hosted ten NCAA men's events and the 2003 and 2009 women's tournaments.

The Devaney Center Natatorium was built as part of the original facility in 1976.[15] The venue hosted several Big Eight and Big 12 conference meets, but is now outdated.[16] Its pool is undersized at just twenty-five yards and is considered among the worst in the Big Ten.[17] The natatorium has a listed capacity of 1,000.

The Devaney Center has served as the home venue of Nebraska's indoor track and field program since it was constructed. A 200-meter hydraulic-banked track, the largest of its kind in the world, was the focal point of a $2.9-million renovation in 2000.[18] The track seats up to 5,000 spectators and has hosted championship meets for each of the Big Eight, Big 12, and Big Ten.

High school sports

The Devaney Center was the primary host of the Nebraska School Activities Association Boys and Girls State Basketball tournament for nearly four decades. Omaha Benson High School's Andre Wooldridge set an arena scoring record in 1992 with fifty points in the Class A championship game.[8] The bulk of the tournament moved to West Haymarket Arena in 2013, but the Devaney Center continues to host a lesser number of games each year, primarily quarterfinals and semifinals in smaller classifications.[19]

Concerts and other events

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The Devaney Center was the primary concert destination in Lincoln throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, and regularly hosted events until the early 2000s. Notable performers at the arena include Crosby, Stills & Nash, Elton John, Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Bob Dylan, and Garth Brooks.[20][21]

Notes

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  1. ^ Some sources list the arena's initial capacity as 13,595, but the university officially claimed 15,000 throughout the late 1970s.[3][2]
  2. ^ Sellout streaks and home attendance figures do not include the 2021 spring season in which many schools, including Nebraska, did not host fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

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  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "New arena excites Huskers, but they're sentimental about Devaney Center as a basketball venue". Associated Press. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "1978–79 Nebraska Basketball Media Guide". Nebraska Athletics. 1978. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  4. ^ Bernard J. Scherr (March 2012). "A Brief History of Nebraska's Cigarette Tax" (PDF). Nebraska Legislative Research Office. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b David Diehl (10 December 1999). "Devaney Center renovations all style, no substance". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Nebraska Football 1976 Media Guide". Nebraska Athletics. 1976. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Bob Devaney Sports Center" (PDF). Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Lee Barfknecht (23 February 2013). "Top Devaney Center moments". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Hendricks Training Complex". Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Amie Just (29 January 2025). "Tom Osborne recalls debating John Cook about move to the Devaney Sports Center in 2011". Husker Extra. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  11. ^ John Anderson (11 April 2025). "Nebraska Board of Regents approve naming of John Cook Arena, statue for legendary volleyball coach". KETV. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  12. ^ a b Evan Bland (25 January 2025). "Nebraska volleyball to expand Devaney Center with goal to reach 10,000 seats". Husker Extra. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  13. ^ "Nebraska volleyball program consistently generating a profit". The Washington Times. Associated Press. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  14. ^ Lincoln Arneal (15 January 2015). "Volleyball shows $1.3M in profit for fiscal 2024". Huskers Illustrated. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  15. ^ "Devaney Center Natatorium". Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  16. ^ Steve Beideck (24 February 2019). "Devaney is well suited for swimming event; 29 all-time marks set on the year". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  17. ^ Steve Rosen (2020). "Big Red Business: What's next for new track stadium and Innovation Campus?". Nebraska Innovation Campus. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  18. ^ "Devaney Center Indoor Track". Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  19. ^ Mike Sautter (23 March 2022). "Options On the Table For Boys and Girls State Basketball Tournaments". NebPreps. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Bob Devaney Sports Center, University of Nebraska Concert History". Concert Archives. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Sinatra did it his way; audience loved it". Lincoln Journal Star. 20 April 1984. Retrieved 2 April 2022.

40°49′49″N 96°41′52″W / 40.830207°N 96.697644°W / 40.830207; -96.697644

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