Nebraska natives and Husker gymnastics alumni Francis Allen and Jim Hartung were announced as members of the 2022 World Acrobatics Society Gallery of Legends – Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 17.
Allen, who spent nearly 50 consecutive years either competing or coaching the Husker gymnasts, was selected to receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Hartung, a seven-time individual national champion and Olympian who has served as a Nebraska assistant since 2006, earned his induction in the highly competitive artistic gymnastics category.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is the latest in a series of recent recognitions for Allen, who was inducted into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019 and was honored as the namesake for the Huskers’ training facility, the Francis Allen Training Complex, which opened in 2019.
“It really hasn’t soaked in yet,” Allen said of his Lifetime Achievement Award and hall-of-fame selection. “I’ve known about the World Acrobatic Society for years, so it’s really nice that this is going to happen. It’s been overwhelming all the stuff that has happened the last couple years.”
For Hartung, this is the fourth hall-of-fame selection of his distinguished career. He was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2006, while Hartung is also a member of the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame.
“I’m honored, humbled and extremely proud to receive this recognition,” Hartung said. “I’d like to thank everyone at the World Acrobatics Society for this honor, and I’m grateful for all of the support I’ve received throughout my career.”
The World Acrobatic Society 2022 Hall of Fame Induction banquet will be held Sept. 9-11 in Las Vegas.
About Francis Allen
Francis Allen is a legendary figure at Nebraska and in the world of gymnastics. He was involved with the Husker gymnastics program for nearly 50 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’s achievements were staggering. He 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 a total of 20 top-five national finishes. His gymnasts 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. AS a Husker, Allen 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 Nebraska in 1965.
About Jim Hartung
Jim Hartung won seven individual NCAA titles and captured 22 All-America accolades in his Husker career, both of which are school records. He also helped lead Nebraska to four straight NCAA team championships from 1979 to 1982. Hartung’s seven individual titles are tied for the most in NCAA history and include all-around titles in 1980 and 1981. He was a three-time NCAA champion on the still rings and a two-time national champion on the parallel bars. Hartung won two individual titles at the 1980 NCAA Championships, three at the 1981 event and two at the 1982 NCAA Championships. In 1982, Hartung won Nebraska’s first Nissen-Emery Award, described as the “Heisman Trophy” of men’s gymnastics. In addition to his 11 combined NCAA championships, Hartung was a 22-time All-American. He captured at least five All-America honors every season of his career, including earning All-America recognition in every event at both the 1981 and 1982 NCAA Championships. An 11-time individual conference champion, Hartung also represented the United States as a two-time Olympian. Although he did not compete in the 1980 Olympics due to a U.S. boycott, Hartung was a member of the 1984 squad that won the first and only men’s gymnastics team gold medal in U.S. Olympic history. Hartung was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2006, and he is also enshrined in the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Hartung earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Nebraska in 1983. He returned to Nebraska as an assistant coach in 2006 and is in his 16th season as an assistant.
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