STEVE COOK INDUCTED TO ATHLETIC HALL
OF FAME
Former football star added
to
Dana College's list of outstanding athletes, Oct. 2
Steve Cook of Blair, Neb., was honored with Dana College’s
highest alumni honor for athletics Oct. 2 in Blair, when the college
named him to its Athletic Hall of Fame at a special ceremony held
as part of Homecoming festivities.
Honorees are nominated for their excellence in athletics while
attending Dana. In Cook’s case, his performance as a Viking
football leader stood out.
When Steve Cook arrived on the Dana Hill in the fall of 1966, he
was accepting the campus "sight unseen" at the recommendation
of his high school history teacher, Grant Walls, Sr., whose son,
Grant Walls, Jr., just happened to be the Viking football coach
at the time. Cook’s first impression of the campus was of
surprise, as the boy from the big city of Norwalk, Ohio, found an
unpaved gravel road running through his new campus.
By the time Cook left the campus in 1970 with his bachelor’s
degree in physical education, both he and Dana College had benefited
and he became a "Viking forever".
Cook was a four-year letterman for the Vikings. As a sophomore,
he won first-team all-conference honors on defense. He repeated
that honor in his junior season, also earning All-NAIA District
II honors that year. In a memorable senior season, he again made
the all-conference and All-NAIA District II first teams. He was
the co-captain of his team, was first-team All-Lutheran College
as a defensive tackle, was named to the Omaha World-Herald All-Nebraska
College Team and received the Rufus Olson Memorial Award.
Today, Cook is the vice-president of Kelly Ryan Equipment and is
the owner/manager of the Blair Marina. He and his wife, Kathleen
Ann (Ryan, ’70) are the parents of two sons, Steven Neal Cook
and Scott Phillip Cook and of a daughter, Stephanie Jean (Cook)
Rasmussen. The couple lives in Blair.
Dana College is a place where all students actively participate.
They make things happen — in their own lives and in the lives
of others. Through a highly supportive faculty and campus community,
Dana students develop interpersonal skills, leadership abilities,
and other important values and knowledge as they make choices about
their future. Dana’s outstanding academic programs in business,
education, art and social work, among others, ensure that students
have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to pursue challenging
careers or placement in graduate school.
Dana College is a private, liberal arts institution in Blair, Neb.
To learn more, visit www.dana.edu.
Dana College: Develop talents, Take charge,
Build a future — We’re with you all the way.
— END —
For more information contact:
Sarah Cavanah
Communications Coordinator
Dana College
(402) 426-7216
scavanah@dana.edu
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