Monday, July 13, 2015
by Montana State Billings Media Relations

BILLINGS, Mont. – After spending seven seasons coaching softball at Montana State University Billings – including the past four as head coach – Lisa Allen has accepted the position of head softball coach at San Francisco State University announced on Monday.
 
"We are thankful for everything Lisa has done for this program and our athletic department during her seven-year tenure with the Yellowjackets," commented MSUB director of athletics Krista Montague. "Lisa has helped develop our softball program into a regional contender, culminating in the team's NCAA West Region Championships runner-up finish this season. We wish Lisa nothing but the best as she begins the next phase of her coaching career and life."
 
"I have had an amazing seven years at MSUB, but it is time for me to start a new chapter," Allen said. "I would like to thank Krista and the fellow staff for being supportive and helpful throughout the years and this process. I would also like to thank all of the players for working so hard to make MSUB Softball what it is today and the parents who have supported us. I will miss all the great relationships I have built here and plan on following the athletes throughout their careers."
 
Most recently, Allen piloted the Yellowjackets to the 2015 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship title, and led her squad to the championship game of the NCAA regional tournament. She also led the Yellowjackets to a GNAC title and NCAA regional championship berth in 2012, and was part of MSUB's 2009 regional playoff team as an assistant coach.

During her tenure as head coach at MSUB, Allen compiled a record of 117-99, winning 32 games in 2012 and 31 during the 2015 season. She assumed coaching duties midway through the 2011 season, after joining the MSUB staff in 2009 as an assistant coach.
 
Allen has also spearheaded coordination of the Desert Stinger Classic, the largest NCAA Division II softball tournament in the United States. In 2015, the sixth-annual event hosted 31 teams from the west region over three days at Majestic Park in Las Vegas.
 
Prior to her time at MSUB, Allen was an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State University and Linfield College (Ore.). Allen was a member of the Dornbirn Sharx in the Austrian professional softball league (2007), and a member of the New England Riptide of the National Professional Fastpitch League (2006).
 
As a collegiate player, Allen twice earned all-Pac 10 honors as a catcher at Oregon State University, and helped the Beavers qualify for the NCAA regional championships in each of her four seasons. In 2006, she helped the Beavers reach the NCAA Division I College World Series, and finished her career ranking among the top-10 in at-bats, RBIs, hits, doubles, and home runs.
 
Allen completed a master's degree in sport management from MSUB in 2012, after earning her bachelor's degree in exercise and sport science from OSU in 2006. She is a native of Canby, Ore.
 
Allen will continue her duties as head coach at MSUB through Aug. 7. A national search for MSUB's next head softball coach will begin immediately.