LINCOLN, Neb.—Francis Allen says he knew it was time for him to start thinking about retirement a couple years ago when he presented his Nebraska gymnasts with season highlight videos he made himself.
The tapes were VHS.
The gymnasts would give him a funny look and tell him that they didn’t own VCRs but that their parents sure would enjoy the tapes.
“That was my clue,” Allen said Thursday. “I didn’t even have a DVD player.”
Saying it was time for new blood to lead the program, Allen announced his retirement Thursday. His eight national championships in his 40 years at Nebraska rank second in NCAA men’s gymnastics history behind the nine won by Penn State’s Gene Wettstone.
The 66-year-old Allen was the youngest college gymnastics coach in the nation when he was hired in 1969, and he’ll leave July 1 as the oldest.
He was the Olympic coach in 1980, when the Americans boycotted the Moscow Games, and again in 1992 in Barcelona.
“It is almost impossible to measure the impact Francis has had, not only on the sport of gymnastics but also on the lives of many young men,” USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny said. “His legacy is well-secured within USA Gymnastics and the history of this sport. He’s been a leader, a pioneer and someone who cared deeply about the development of gymnastics.”
Athletic director Tom Osborne said Allen would help in the search for a new coach.
Allen, born in Cleveland, grew up in Lincoln and competed for Jack Geier, the only other gymnastics coach Nebraska has had since 1950.
“It has been a dream ride for a Nebraska boy and a Lincoln High graduate,” Allen said. “I couldn’t have imagined coming here out of high school that I would have the opportunity to work with conference champions, national champions and Olympians. There has been a lot of ups and down, but it has all been worth it.”
Allen said it’s time to turn the program over to a younger coach.
“I have old ways and I am set in those ways,” he said, “and I am used to dealing with kids from a little different generation.”
Nebraska captured NCAA titles for five straight seasons, from 1979 to 1983. The Huskers also won team championships in 1988, 1990 and 1994.
Allen’s teams also earned seven national runner-up finishes. In a 17-year stretch from 1979 to 1995, Nebraska finished either first or second at the NCAA meet 15 times. Including the 2009 season, the Huskers have competed in 25 of the last 31 NCAA Championships, advancing to the finals 16 times.
But the early ’80s marked the pinnacle of Allen’s success. Fans flocked to the Devaney Sports Center to cheer on teams led by Jim Hartung, Scott Johnson and Phil Cahoy, all of whom competed on the gold medal-winning 1984 Olympic team.
“We used to pride ourselves for the crowds we would get,” Allen said. “Women’s basketball wasn’t as prevalent, so the media had more time for us. We were right there at the right time, and we enjoyed every damn minute of it, by the way.”
Only 16 schools now compete in Division I gymnastics, but Allen said he’s optimistic about the sport’s survival.
Mark Williams, coached by Allen at Nebraska from 1977-80 and a five-time national champion coach at Oklahoma, said Allen has been an outstanding ambassador for the sport. Williams said Allen was never hesitant to offer advice, even to his opponents.
“He once told my wife that he figured the wins I had were at least partly his, too, since he developed me,” Williams said. “He could look at it that way, even when some of my teams started beating his. He’s a legend. I hate to see him not be out there day-to-day with gymnasts.”
Allen’s athletes have earned 172 All-America awards, and a total of 41 gymnasts have earned individual event titles.
During the 1992 Olympics, Allen coached former Nebraska gymnast Trent Dimas to a gold medal with a 9.875 on the high bar. Dimas was the first U.S. gymnast to win a gold medal at a non-boycotted Olympic Games in 60 years.
Allen said he took great pride representing his country as a coach, but he also grew weary with some of the politics associated with international competition.
He said he still resents the 1980 Olympic boycott.
“I was able to go on and do another Olympics,” he said, “but those poor athletes didn’t. They got screwed out of it by the government.”
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