It’s been a week since the secret got out. In fact, it was Nebraska’s head coach, John Cook, who took the wraps off of the secret when he announced his retirement on January 30. Now, former Nebraska Huskers star Dani Busboom Kelly is on her way to the grand welcome event at the Bob Devaney Center, where she’ll formally take the reins of the Huskers’ volleyball program.

And once again, it’s John Cook who’s unveiled a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the welcome event on social media. On the National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the four-time national championship-winning coach posted a still of the Devaney Center. The image showed that Nebraska’s home stadium was all ready to receive the new head coach.

“There is no place like Nebraska!” the 68-year-old wrote while sharing the photo. The massive empty stadium had neatly lined chairs and a stage on one end of the stadium, all ready for the fans and Dani Busboom Kelly. Meanwhile, the former Nebraska Huskers assistant coach was on her way to Lincoln. The Huskers Volleyball page posted DBK landing at Lincoln.

The official volleyball handle posted a glimpse of DBK hopping off her homecoming flight with her husband and son. However, there’s more to Kelly’s homecoming than returning to her alma mater as it’s the volleyball program’s new head coach. The Cortland, Nebraska native is also returning to once again represent her home state in the NCAA.

While Dani Busboom Kelly became immensely successful in coaching Louisville to multiple NCAA Championship finals for the first time in the program’s history, the Huskers remained close to her heart. Now she is finally back in the state where grew up and learned to love volleyball. DBK’s mother expressed her joy after learning about her daughter’s homecoming.

“I mean, she’s kind of like a mini John Cook in Louisville,” said the former NCAA Champion’s mother. However, she couldn’t hold her tears back after learning that Kelly was the new Huskers head coach. “I just cried… I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me? This is finally real?’… ‘It’s real, mom,'” Bonnie Busboom told Huskers Illustrated about their conversation. It’s safe to say such excitement levels will remain intact during the welcome celebration as well.

Dani Busboom Kelly already earned a standing ovation

Nebraska fans who came to watch the Huskers men’s basketball team take on Illinois got the surprise of their lives on January 31. That’s because they had no idea that both John Cook and DBK were present at the Pinnacle Bank Arena on that fateful day. The crowd burst into cheers when John Cook emerged, closely followed by Dani Busboom Kelly.

And as Nebraska’s Athletic Director Troy Dannen honored Coach Cook and welcomed DBK, the crowd gave the duo a standing ovation. The surprise event showed just how excited Huskers fans are to welcome Dani Busboom Kelly back to her alma mater. Meanwhile, DBK has also spoken about what felt like a storm for the past two weeks.

“They’ve been chaotic but also at the same time really exciting,” the former Louisville head coach said about transitioning from Louisville to Nebraska in a little over a week. However, she’s grateful that Coach Cook has agreed to stay and help her begin her journey at Nebraska. “The most special part of it all is listening to John Cook talk about the old days and his belief in me,” DBK said in her first interview as the new head coach.

“It just has given me a lot of confidence that this is going to be really special,” added Dani Busboom Kelly. So if the excrement levels and the standing ovation at Pinnacle Bank are any indications, the welcome celebration will see fans filling up The Bob with ease.