Marty Allen '58 (Manager) Monogram Club Staff

Marty Allen served as Notre Dame’s head football manager in 1957, the year that the Irish team ended Oklahoma’s NCAA-record 47-game winning streak. He has been a longtime leader of the Monogram Club board, first serving as a board member and then serving six years as part of the President rotation (including as president from ’97-’99).

Following his presidency, Allen has continued to serve the board as an advisor and member of the Past Presidents Council, and has been involved in numerous areas, including the Heritage Hall and the awards program. During the 2013 Blue-Gold festivities, Allen received the Edward “Moose” Krause Distinguished Service Award and was named Director Emeritus of the Monogram Club.

Currently the Chairman Emeritus and lifetime trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation in his native Grand Rapids, Mich., Allen graduated from Notre Dame in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree. After serving on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Navy, he went on to earn his MBA from Michigan State University in 1962. Allen has received Honorary Doctorate degrees from Aquinas College and Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids.

Allen was a product manager for Baxter Laboratories in Morton Grove, Ill., before returning to his hometown of Grand Rapids to join Old Kent Bank and Trust Company in 1966. He retired 31 years later as Executive Vice-president, Director of strategic planning and Secretary of the bank’s holding company. During his career with the bank and its holding company, Allen was integrally involved in Old Kent’s efforts to nurture the development of the Grand Rapids community and the West Michigan region. For his exceptional service to others, he received commendations from the President of the United States and Governor of the State of Michigan. He continues to be active in a variety of community projects.

Allen was awarded Aquinas College’s prestigious Reflection Award and was granted emeritus trustee status at the school in 2003, following nine years of service as a trustee. Among the many other awards he has received include: Bank Marketing Hall of Fame from the American Bankers Association, University of Notre Dame Exemplar Award and the Notre Dame Alumni Association’s Harvey Foster Award, presented to former Monogram winners in recognition of distinguished service. In 2009, Allen received the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Gerald R. Ford Lifetime Achievement Award in “recognition for his contribution to sports and untiring efforts to improve the quality of life for the people of Michigan.”

Allen and his wife Sue have three children: Mike (’88), Steve and Kat.