Jenny Allard is a former All-America

All-America

An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

n softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 player at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 and the current head coach of the Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 softball team. Allard played for the Michigan Wolverines softball team

Michigan Wolverines softball

The Michigan Wolverines softball team represents the University of Michigan in National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I competition. College softball became a varsity sport at the University of Michigan in 1978. Carol Hutchins has been the head coach since 1985...

 from 1987-1990 where she was named an All-Big Ten

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 player four straight years. She was a third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

 as a freshman and sophomore and a pitcher as a junior and senior. In 1989, Allard was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and a nominee for the Honda-Broderick Cup

Honda-Broderick Cup

The Honda-Broderick Cup is a sports award for college-level female athletes. The awards are voted on by a national panel of more than 1000 collegiate athletic directors. It was first presented by the late Thomas Broderick, owner of a sports apparel company, in 1977, with the first award going to...

. She has been the head coach at Harvard since 1995, where she led the Crimson

Harvard Crimson

The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...

 to its first Ivy League

Ivy League

The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 championship in 1992 and has followed with three more Ivy League crowns. In 1997, Allard told her team that she was a lesbian

Lesbian

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

, becoming one of the first major college coaches to openly announce her homosexuality. In 2008, Allard was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor

University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor

The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs...

.

All-American at the University of Michigan (1987-1990)

A native of Irvine, California

Irvine, California

Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...

, Allard played softball for Hall of Fame coach Carol Hutchins

Carol Hutchins

Carol "Hutch" Hutchins is an American softball coach. In 27 years as the head coach of Michigan Wolverines softball , she has more than 1,200 career wins, more than any other coach in University of Michigan history in any sport, male or female...

 at the University of Michigan from 1987-1990. She began at Michigan as a third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

, but became a pitcher in her junior and senior years. As a freshman, Allard led the Wolverines with 26 RBIs, while hitting .331, second best on the team. She led the team in batting average in 1988 and 1989 and was named an All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year in 1989. She was also a four-time All-Big Ten Conference

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 selection, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors as a senior. In 1989, Allard was also nominated for the Honda Broderick Award. She was the recipient of Michigan’s Conference Medal of Honor, an award given to the highest-achieving female student-athlete. Named to the Big Ten All-Decade team in 1992, Allard ranked in the top four all-time in 15 hitting and pitching categories at the time of her graduation from Michigan. In 2008, Allard was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor

University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor

The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs...

, only the fourth softball player inducted into the Hall (after Penny Neer

Penny Neer

Penny Lou Neer is a former American collegiate and Olympic athlete in discus throwing, basketball and softball....

, Vicki Morrow

Vicki Morrow

Vicki Morrow is a former softball pitcher and outfielder who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines softball team from 1983 to 1987. She was named Big Ten player of the year in 1987, selected to the Big Ten All-Decade Team, and inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of...

, and Alicia Seegert

Alicia Seegert

Alicia Seegert is a former All-American softball player. Considered one of the best softball players ever to play for the University of Michigan Wolverines softball team, she set Big Ten Conference records for batting average , hits, total bases and RBIs...

).

Coaching record

In 1992, Allard accepted a full-time coaching position as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

. In 1995, Allard accepted the head coaching position for the Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 softball team. She has been the head coach at Harvard for 13 seasons and is the longest tenured softball coach in the Ivy League

Ivy League

The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

. She holds 313-249-1 overall record at Harvard, including a 127-49 record in the Ivy League

Ivy League

The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

. Harvard has won four Ivy League softball titles in its history, all during Allard’s time as coach. Allard has also been Harvard’s coach during each of its four 30-win seasons and its three NCAA Championship berths. She has coached 33 first-team All-Ivy League players selections, four Ivy League Players of the Year, three Ivy Pitchers of the Year and two Ivy Rookies of the Year.

In 1998, Allard led Harvard to the best season in the history of the program, as the team recorded a 34-22 record, captured its first Ivy League championship with a perfect 12-0 league record and earned its first bid to the NCAA Championship, where it defeated Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

in the regional. The Crimson was led in 1998 by Ivy Player of the Year Tara LaSovage and Pitcher of the Year Tasha Cupp.

In 2000, Allard’s team won its second Ivy League championship and NCAA tournament berth. The 2000 Crimson went 11-1 in league play. In 2001, Harvard again won the Ivy League title after posting an 11-3 League record. In 2002, the team had a 31-10 record in 2002, breaking the record set by the 1998 team, and winning the ECAC championship. In 2007, Harvard won its fourth Ivy League championship under Allard with a record of 31-15 record and a 14-6 record in the Conference.

Allard earned a master’s degree from the Harvard School of Education in 1999 and a master's in psychology from the Harvard Extension School in 2003.

Allard announces she is a lesbian in 1997

In 1997, Allard told her team that she was a lesbian, becoming one of the first major college coaches to openly affirm her homosexuality. Allard made the announcement to her players in an email. "What I wrote," Allard recalled, "was something like, 'I know you'll potentially be stopping by my suite or calling, and I just want to let you know that my partner has decided to move on campus with me and you'll soon get the opportunity to meet her.'" She added, "I wanted to be very honest about how I was living and not be shamed or silenced by it. I ask and expect my athletes to be honest about things. They don't have to tell me everything, but if they are going to tell me something, I want them to be truthful. And because I want to model that, I couldn't tell them I'm hiding my partner behind the left field fence and I'm embarrassed to have them know her." Allard has spoken at conferences on the subject of homosexuality in athletics and has become an advocate for the rights of gay and lesbian athletes. "As a coach, I'd like to see increased dialogue among teams, and resources for gay athletes need to come more to the forefront," she said. "It's a big learning experience to have a gay athlete on the team."