Some members of the Nebraska Athletic Department, including longtime athletic trainer Jerry Weber and men's gymnastics coach Chuck Chmelka, had invited Francis Allen to lunch one day last spring.
Allen, the retired, colorful and legendary Nebraska men's gymnastics coach, grew suspicious.
"I thought, 'This is kind of weird,' " the 75-year-old Allen said. "Then they said, 'You're going into the Hall of Fame.' I said, 'Oh, s---.' "
Both honored and surprised he would become only the third coach to join the five-year-old Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame – joining football coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne – Allen said he couldn't consider it a dream come true, because, frankly, he'd never dreamt about such a thing.