DeKALB, Ill. – Pete Waite, whose 11-year tenure as Northern Illinois University volleyball coach included four NCAA Tournament bids, seven total postseason appearances and three conference coach of the year honors, will be inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.
Waite is the third member of the 2024 NIU Athletics Hall of Fame Class to be announced, joining
Jordan Lynch (Football, 2009-13) and
Holly Reichard (Gymnastics, 2008-11). The Class, which is being announced individually this spring, will be honored during Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 18-19) at NIU.
"Pete Waite's record at NIU speaks for itself," said Rodney Davis, chair of the Hall of Fame Committee. "His NIU volleyball teams absolutely dominated the competition, advanced to postseason play more often than not and established a legacy of success for Huskie Volleyball. We're very pleased to welcome Coach Waite to the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame."
As the NIU volleyball head coach from 1988-98, Waite guided the Huskies to a 266-102 mark, which included four NCAA Tournaments (1993, '96, '97, '98), six conference tournament titles and seven total postseason appearances. Waite's .723 winning percentage is the highest in program history. His NIU teams posted an even better record versus conference foes as the Huskies were 116-18 in league play for an .866 winning percentage.
During his tenure at NIU, Waite was named the Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year twice (1992, '93) and earned Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1997. He mentored 31 all-conference honorees and four conference players of the year.
Hired as the Huskies' head coach in 1988 following two seasons as an assistant at Illinois State, Waite led NIU to a 22-8 overall record, including a 6-1 mark in the North Star Conference to tie for first in the league, and Cathy Holmes was named the North Star Conference Player of the year. NIU's 22 victories marked just the sixth 20-win season in program history at the time. He would go on to lead the Huskies to 20-or-more wins in nine of his 11 seasons.
The Huskies won the North Star Conference again in 1990, going 26-8 with an 8-1 league mark. The following season, NIU had a 27-9 overall record and appeared in the postseason for the first time, playing in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
In 1992, NIU won the Mid-Continent Conference and set a new school record with 33 victories. The Huskies advanced to the championship match of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship before falling to Washington State in the final. Wendy Mason became the second Huskie to earn conference player of the year honors under Waite as she was named the Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year.
NIU repeated as the Mid-Continent Conference champions in 1993 and earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated Illinois State in the first round before bowing out to Penn State. The Huskies won 29 matches during the 1993 campaign. Five Huskies earned All Mid-Continent Conference honors that season, including Nikki Kozak who was named the league's player of the year. The team was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011 with Kozak earning the honor as an individual.
The 1996 season saw NIU begin a string of three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, as the Huskies went 27-8 that season, winning the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament before falling to UC Santa Barbara in five sets in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Beth Burkholder was named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year.
NIU went 27-4 in 1997, including a 14-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play as the Huskies tied for the MAC West Division crown in their first season in the league. NIU won the MAC Tournament with a four-set championship match victory over Miami. The Huskies then outlasted Villanova in five sets in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Penn State in the second round.
The Huskies once again tied for the MAC West crown in 1998, going 27-7 overall and 15-3 in league play. Despite falling in the conference tournament final, NIU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated Florida State in five sets in the first round before falling at Louisville in the second round.
Waite went on to lead the Wisconsin volleyball program from 1999-2012, guiding the Badgers to a 305-147 mark, which included nine NCAA Tournament appearances, two Big Ten titles (2000, '01) and a national runner-up finish in 2001. Waite was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2000, 2001 and 2006.
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