Huskers Open Francis Allen Training Complex

Nebraska Athletics and its men's and women's gymnastics programs officially dedicated the new Francis Allen Training Complex on Friday evening. The dedication of the new facility and ribbon cutting was attended by nearly 100 gymnastics alumni as well as Athletic Department and University officials.

The Allen Training Complex is a 46,000 square-foot state-of-the art facility that is located just north and west of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Practice gyms, locker rooms, team meeting rooms, athletic therapy areas and coaches' offices for both the Husker men's and women's gymnastics programs are included in the complex. The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the program statement on August 11, 2017. Husker Athletics broke ground on the complex on September 28, 2018, and a topping off ceremony was held on April 26, 2019.

Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos said the facility will be the finest of its kind in the country and he remarked about the legacy of Coach Allen.

"I never had the chance to work with Francis, but I feel like I know him real well," Moos said. "When you talk about coaching icons in intercollegiate athletics, he's right up there all-time in any sport. He loved the student-athletes, very passionate about the sport, well respected around the county and at his very core he's a winner - he's proven that with the championships he's won. No better way to celebrate than to name a beautiful facility like this after Francis Allen."

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green also took part in the ribbon cutting and said discussed the deep history of Husker gymnastics.

"I remember as a student here in the 1980's coming to gymnastics meets in the Devaney Center to watch world-class talent," Greene said. "While Francis led the men's program from 1964 for over 40 seasons to legendary success, our women's program got added in 1976 and it also has had legendary success. I don't have to tell you the legends that we have here in Husker Athletics and gymnastics has been a leader in that in so many ways."

Moos and Chancellor Green were joined at the ribbon cutting ceremony by University of Nebraska President Ted Carter; Brad Muehling and Grant Watson from UNL Facilities Management & Planning; representatives from Clark Enersen Partners (Design Team); and the Hausmann Construction Team (Contractor).
 
Nebraska Head Coaches Heather Brink (women's) and Chuck Chmelka (men's) were also on hand to recognize Francis Allen—for whom the building is named. Allen is Nebraska's legendary men's gymnastics coach who led his Husker teams to eight NCAA team championships and his student-athletes to 42 individual NCAA titles in 40 years. 

Francis Allen Biography
Francis Allen is a legendary figure at Nebraska and in the world of men's gymnastics. Allen was involved with the Husker gymnastics program for nearly 50 consecutive years, lettering as a gymnast for three years (1962-64), serving as an assistant coach for five seasons (1965-69) and then leading the program as head coach for 40 seasons (1970-2009). The longest tenured head coach in the history of Nebraska Athletics, Allen led the Huskers to eight NCAA team championships, including five consecutive titles from 1979 to 1983. In addition to the eight national titles, Nebraska finished as the NCAA runner-up seven times while posting 20 top-five national finishes. His gymnasts also won 42 individual national titles, including nine NCAA all-around crowns, and claimed a total of 171 All-America awards. At the conference level, Nebraska won 14 team championships and produced 92 individual champions. Allen also coached four Nissen-Emery award winners as the nation's top gymnast and tutored 11 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Allen himself was an eight-time national coach of the year. Internationally, Allen coached nine Olympians at Nebraska and served as the head coach of Team USA for the 1980 and 1992 Olympics, although the U.S. boycotted the 1980 Olympics. Allen began his affiliation with Nebraska as a Husker gymnast. He was the Big Eight champion on parallel bars as a senior in 1964 and was Nebraska's first All-American on that event the same year, finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships. Allen earned his degree in physical education from the University of Nebraska in 1965 and was inducted into the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.