Longtime Nebraska men’s gymnastics coach Francis Allen, 66, announced last week that he will retire July 1. After nearly 50 years in the sport – all of them at Nebraska – Allen said he is a teacher at heart who was fortunate enough to work at the highest level. In addition to coaching the Cornhuskers to eight national championships during his tenure, Allen also coached the 1980 and 1992 Olympic teams and three of the gymnasts who competed at the 1984 Olympics.

Allen talked with The NCAA News about his decision to retire and what he sees in the future for NCAA gymnastics.

NCAA News: Why did you decide to retire?

Francis Allen: It’s just time. I’ve been doing it for 48 years, 40 as a head coach. I’ve got other things I want to do, and it’s a good time to switch staffs. My wife and my boss and I decided to do it this summer.

NCAA News: What will you miss most?

Allen: I don’t know – I haven’t left yet. I would assume since it’s the only full-time job I’ve ever had, the initial feeling of not going to work is going to be tough. And the relationships with the people, the coaching staff. I’ll miss that.

NCAA News: What won’t you miss?

Allen: There are a few things, but I’ll miss more than I won’t miss.

NCAA News: You’ve done so much – won NCAA national titles, coached Olympic medal winners, what are you most proud of?

Allen: All of those are highs, but each one has its own little place. It’s almost a dream. I even had a dream when I started to have a conference champion, just a conference champion. Then I had an NCAA champion, then an Olympic gold medalist. Then I was the Olympic coach. I thought, “Wow, this has all been something. It’s been a great time.” I grew up in the era of the Berlin Wall and the Communist bloc countries, and we used to go there and work and see how those poor people lived. It’s just amazing to see. Americans, we have it all. We still do have it all.

NCAA News: What has gymnastics brought you that you wouldn’t have had otherwise?

Allen: Gymnastics took me all over the world. That wouldn’t have happened; my personality wouldn’t be what it is today – good or bad – without gymnastics. It’s kind of amazing. You look at my friends and 95 percent have something to do with gymnastics. I’m going to miss them. I’m going to do some traveling. I was national team coach from 1980-96, and I met a lot of really good people. I need to go see them.

NCAA News: You chaired the men’s gymnastics committee for a time. What was that experience like?

Allen: It really throws a different angle on everything. When I did the job, and I think most of the people who do that job, we view it as an honor, not a position to make your team better. You’ve got the rules and regulations for the NCAA. I tried to do it and make decisions that affected everybody the best way. I was able to leave those meetings and sleep.

NCAA News: What advice would you have for future chairs?

Allen: There are plenty of great people out there. It’s a lot of work. You’re probably going to take a week out of your year by the time you go to meetings and listen to people and evaluate how it’s going to affect the whole NCAA. In the old days, you had Division II and III also, so it was an even bigger job. But it’s big job now, too. All of those experiences were the ultimate.

NCAA News: You’ve spent your entire career in one place. What made you stay at Nebraska?

Allen: I don’t know. I’m from here. I was born in Ohio and came here two or three months later and never lived any place else. My family was here. I just started working here. I have always said that a coach really is a teacher; we just get the upper level in college. We’re really fortunate. I got the job and right away fell in love with coaching and with coaching gymnastics.

NCAA News: What do you love about the sport?

Allen: You know, the thing about gymnastics is it’s such a dynamic sport. I appreciate all kinds of athletics, I played football in high school and ran track. I just think that the all-around gymnast is the epitome of an athlete.

NCAA News: What do you see for the future of men’s gymnastics in the NCAA?

Allen: It’s going to be hard. It’s hard times right now. A lot of people say Title IX killed us. Title IX didn’t kill us. It’s the money. Some people are one-sided about that. Look at the high schools – It’s killed high school gymnastics. There are no high school gymnastics teams left in the United States. It’s just money. There are so many programs now for high school kids to get into, not like back when every high school had a gymnastics program. The NCAA and college coaches should really take a look at what’s going on. We’re a dying breed. But look at women’s gymnastics in the NCAA – a lot of them are coached by men from gymnastics. There are some great women’s coaches in gymnastics, but most all the skills the women have done on their uneven bars are from men’s gymnastics. If you haven’t experienced that, you don’t have the same view and concepts to teach a kid. … If we lose men’s gymnastics, it’s going to hurt the women, too.

NCAA News: Gymnastics is so popular at the Olympics, why is the NCAA having trouble?

Allen: It’s popular in the United States, at the club level. I’ve had a club since I started at Nebraska in the 1960s, working with boys and girls in the community. I saw a need for it when I saw the elementary schools and junior high schools were not giving the talented kids who deserved more attention what they needed. If you really concentrated on their gymnastics, not all the sports, clubs ended up producing better athletes. You start them earlier, and you work with them longer. Club gymnastics is very popular – there are more boys doing gymnastics in the United States now than ever. You just don’t see it at the high school level. If it’s not at the high school, the local paper doesn’t write about it until they make the Olympics. It’s too bad we’re missing that, but the high school had a lot to do with getting publicity for gymnastics. Gymnastics is popular. Texas and Florida have more gymnasts than you can shake a stick at – and no college programs.