Assistant Volleyball Coach
Sept. 16, 2005

Janet Cobbs Mulholland

Janet Cobbs Mulholland enters her seventh season as an assistant coach at UW-River Falls.

From All-American at North Dakota State University to U.S. Olympian, Cobbs' volleyball career took her around the world and back again. From being a member of U.S. National Team from 1989 to 1994, to playing on the Bronze Medal American team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, to becoming NDSU’s first recipient of the Honda-Broderick Trophy in 1988-89, an award signifying the Div. II Female Athlete of the Year, Cobbs has been at the pinnacle of her sport. She was a three-time first-team All-North Central Conference performer (1986, 1987, 1988) and a two-time first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association & Asics/Volleyball Magazine All-American in 1987 and 1988 ,and second-team AVCA and Asics/Volleyball Magazine All-American in 1986. Cobbs was the 1988 AVCA and Asics/Volleyball Magazine Div. II Player of the Year. She was a three-time AVCA all-region selection (1986, 1987, 1988) and an eight-time NCC Player of the Week.

She led NDSU to four straight NCAA tournament appearances including a school-record 43-3 mark in 1988 when the Bison hosted the NCAA Elite Eight and won the NCC title. During her national team stint, she competed in the 1988 Goodwill Games and was a member of the USA’s 1990 bronze medal team in the World Championships in Beijing, China. She earned MVP honors at the 1992 Hong Kong Cup. Cobbs played pro volleyball in the U.S. for the Minnesota Monarchs (1988-89), in Italy for Ceramica Magica (1993-94) and in Turkey for Vakifbank (1996-97). She was a Major League Volleyball All-Start for the Monarchs in 1989. She also played in the Bud Light Pro Beach Volleyball League (1993-97) and was a member of the 1996 Bud Light Pro Beach League champion Team Paul Mitchell. She was selected as the 1997 Bud Light Pro Beach League Surprise Player of the Year. All-America and all-tournament at the USAV Nationals in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003, she was the MVP of the 1997 USAV Nationals in Kansas City for Team Paul Mitchell.

A native of St. Paul, Minn., she as inducted into the NDSU Hall of Fame. In 2004, she was awarded the Athletic Achievement Award from Concordia Academy. She is married to Jason Mulholland and has three children: Nicole, 8, Madelyn, 4, and Collin, 1.

Janet
Cobbs Mulholland