[2] Allard played for the Michigan Wolverines softball team from 1987–1990, where she was named an All-Big Ten player four straight years.
In 1997, Allard told her team that she was a lesbian, becoming one of the first major college coaches to openly announce her homosexuality.
After graduating from Woodbridge High School in Irvine, California,[3] Allard played softball for Hall of Fame coach Carol Hutchins at the University of Michigan from 1987-1990.
[4] 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.
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.
[5] Harvard has won nine Ivy League softball titles in its history, all during Allard’s time as coach.
[5] On June 19, 2023, Allard was named the head coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers softball team.
[8][9] In 1997, Allard told her team that she was a lesbian, becoming one of the first major college coaches to openly affirm her homosexuality.
"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.