“Thank you again, Husker Nation. This has been a homecoming fit for a queen.” Such were the final words of Dani Busboom Kelly’s introductory speech at Nebraska’s welcome ceremony. The turnout at the arena roughly crossed 2000 in attendance, and the atmosphere was beyond ecstatic with the wide-ranging audience on a workday, from friends and family to teammates to Gov. It has been a week since John Cook stepped down from his position, and a week since the Huskers’ 4th head coach was named. As the 39-year-old graces the Devaney Stadium this time around, she has bigger shoes to fill. A legacy to carry…

On February 6, Nebraska’s Huskers threw an official welcome party for their former player turned coach. Nebraska’s athletic director, Troy Dannen, officially inaugurated Kelly’s enthronement as the Huskers head coach. Among the attendees at Kelly’s celebration were 700 RSVPs from Cortland.

Dani Busboom Kelly hails from Cortland and attended Freemans Public School in Adams, Nebraska. After graduating high school, Kelly was recruited by the Huskers, where she played as their setter and libero from 2003 to 2006. In his welcome speech, Troy Dannen mentions, “Dani sat at your desk, she walked your halls, she played in your gym. What she has become is the dream of every high school student and what we all aspire for our children.”

Busboom Kelly’s hometown, Cortland, has a population count of 600. Further, Troy Dannen addressed the crowd comprising Kelly’s family members, neighbors, and the entire Cortland community who had come out to support Kelly’s official welcome celebration, humorously mentioned that “today would be a good day to rob a bank,” given that most of Cortland’s residents were at the Devaney Stadium.

Moving on, Busboom Kelly addressed the audience next, reminiscing about her time spent with the Huskers as a player. During her playing career with the Huskers, Kelly was considered the Big 12’s best libero in 2006 and led her team to win one NCAA Championship title in the same year as a senior.

The Huskers’ current players, Andi Jackson, Bergen Reilly, Harper Murray, and Rebekah Allick, chimed in with their thoughts on Kelly as their head coach. The girls did not anticipate much change in the culture of the Huskers volleyball, given that Kelly is also one of them. Bergen Reilly’s thoughts on Kelly were all about her being one of them. The Volleyball star said, “She’s from here, she played here, she knows what it takes. Unless you played at Nebraska, you don’t know. She’s a Nebraskan at heart.”

Busboom Kelly’s husband, Lane Kelly, also stood with Kelly on the stage as her pillar of support with their son, Gregory Boone Kelly, who was overjoyed to see the overwhelming love that the crowd had for Kelly.

Homecoming for Dani Busboom Kelly

Amidst the pool of supporters was her husband, Lane Kelly’s family, and Dani’s family as well. In her speech, Kelly got emotional while mentioning the tremendous support that she received from Lane throughout her coaching career. She said that Lane makes being the spouse of a coach look easy, while it’s probably not.

Lane Kelly welcomed the shift from Louisville to Nebraska wholeheartedly and added that Nebraska’s love and support for volleyball as a sport is just mind-boggling and unexpected. While speaking to Huskerextra, Lane also mentioned that Dani is pregnant with their second child and would be due in late May.

Hence, the move back home makes all the more sense. After all, the Nebraska athletics program has multiple connections to Dani’s career and personal life. Dani met Lane during their freshman year in the fall of 2003. Just like Dani, Lane played for the Huskers football team as their long snapper till 2006. While Lane’s football career did not take off professionally due to injuries, he has continued to play a pivotal role in Dani’s career progression.

Just before Cook officially named Kelly his successor, her family could not control their excitement at the news of the imminent hiring. The Kellys are expected to complete their move to Lincoln’s Firethorn neighborhood by early March. We wish the Kellys success and much more, but we truly look forward to the Huskers lifting the trophy this NCAA Championship season. The era of Dani Busboom Kelly has just begun. Do tell us your thoughts in the comments below.