Allen Named 2026 Zunic Award Recipient
9/8/2026 7:00:00 AM | Football
Greg Allen, a former football student-athlete who still holds the Orange's single-game punt return yards record and member of the Syracuse 8 legacy, is the 2026 recipient of the Zunic Award. Allen will be honored during Saturday's football game against Cal.
Tickets for Saturday's game are available at Cuse.com/FootballTickets.Â
Presented by the Syracuse Football Club, the Zunic Award was created in 2001 to honor Mike and Judy Zunic, who died tragically on July 18, 1989 when a United Airlines plane crashed in Sioux City, Iowa. The pilot, anticipating landing difficulties, requested if some strong passengers would volunteer to give up their seats and sit at the exit doors to assist passengers in the event of an emergency. Mike and Judy gave up their seats in first class to sit at one of the doors. They both died in the crash and those in the Zunics' original seats survived.
Mike Zunic was a four-year starter at linebacker and earned a bachelor's degree (1981) and master's degree (1982) in speech communication from Syracuse.
Allen earned his bachelor's degree from the Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1973. Originally from Plainfield, New Jersey, Allen arrived at Syracuse after a standout high school career in both football and track.
He joined the Orange in 1968, and in his sophomore season, he set the program's single-game record for most punt return yards against Penn State (172 yards), a record that still stands today.
Allen was also a member of the Syracuse 8 – whose contributions are still honored to this day with the annual Syracuse 8 Courage Award presented at the 'Cuse Awards, where Allen is a regular presenter.
After graduation, Allen completed graduate programs at Syracuse, Duquesne and Northwestern's Kellogg Business School. He spent 33 years as an insurance executive, having since retired from Liberty Mutual, but held several managerial positions with the company while working.
Allen has also participated on several boards, including: Arizona Mental Health Association, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Syracuse University School of Education Board, Northern Illinois University Business School - Marketing Board, Liberty Mutual Advisory Board, among others.
Allen was awarded the Chancellor's Medal for Extraordinary Courage in 2006 and was a Syracuse LetterWinner of Distinction in 2009.
Allen is also active in his local church, coaches various youth sports teams and volunteers in several outreach programs. Allen and his wife Sirena have three children and several grandchildren.
Past Zunic Award Recipients
2001: Mr. and Mrs. Zunic, Frank Maloney, Gene Grabosky '60 (posthumous)
2002: Pat '88 and Kari Kelly, Roberta DeLeone
2003: Jim DaRin '77
2004: Joshua Frase
2005: Jim Rooney
2006: Rockette Pirro Brunetti, Horace Landry
2007: Sylvia Mackey, Chris Ingram '89 (posthumous)
2008: Robin Griffin '72, Carlmon Jones, Ron Page '74
2009: Bill Coghill '72, Norm Mordue '66
2010: Jim Jerome '76
2011: John Lally '82
2012: Tim Byrne '87 (posthumous)
2013: Pat Killorin '66
2014: Dick Beyer '53
2015: Frank Conover '91
2016: Tom Hermanowski '70
2017: J. Michael Anderson '77
2018: Rob Long '12, G'14
2019: Dan Conley '95
2021: John Lusardi ' 92
2022: Dick Murphy '67
2023: Rusty Mills '74
2024: Dennis Hartman '81
2025: Carl Jenkins '88
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Tickets for Saturday's game are available at Cuse.com/FootballTickets.Â
Presented by the Syracuse Football Club, the Zunic Award was created in 2001 to honor Mike and Judy Zunic, who died tragically on July 18, 1989 when a United Airlines plane crashed in Sioux City, Iowa. The pilot, anticipating landing difficulties, requested if some strong passengers would volunteer to give up their seats and sit at the exit doors to assist passengers in the event of an emergency. Mike and Judy gave up their seats in first class to sit at one of the doors. They both died in the crash and those in the Zunics' original seats survived.
Mike Zunic was a four-year starter at linebacker and earned a bachelor's degree (1981) and master's degree (1982) in speech communication from Syracuse.
Allen earned his bachelor's degree from the Newhouse School of Public Communications in 1973. Originally from Plainfield, New Jersey, Allen arrived at Syracuse after a standout high school career in both football and track.
He joined the Orange in 1968, and in his sophomore season, he set the program's single-game record for most punt return yards against Penn State (172 yards), a record that still stands today.
Allen was also a member of the Syracuse 8 – whose contributions are still honored to this day with the annual Syracuse 8 Courage Award presented at the 'Cuse Awards, where Allen is a regular presenter.
After graduation, Allen completed graduate programs at Syracuse, Duquesne and Northwestern's Kellogg Business School. He spent 33 years as an insurance executive, having since retired from Liberty Mutual, but held several managerial positions with the company while working.
Allen has also participated on several boards, including: Arizona Mental Health Association, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Syracuse University School of Education Board, Northern Illinois University Business School - Marketing Board, Liberty Mutual Advisory Board, among others.
Allen was awarded the Chancellor's Medal for Extraordinary Courage in 2006 and was a Syracuse LetterWinner of Distinction in 2009.
Allen is also active in his local church, coaches various youth sports teams and volunteers in several outreach programs. Allen and his wife Sirena have three children and several grandchildren.
Past Zunic Award Recipients
2001: Mr. and Mrs. Zunic, Frank Maloney, Gene Grabosky '60 (posthumous)
2002: Pat '88 and Kari Kelly, Roberta DeLeone
2003: Jim DaRin '77
2004: Joshua Frase
2005: Jim Rooney
2006: Rockette Pirro Brunetti, Horace Landry
2007: Sylvia Mackey, Chris Ingram '89 (posthumous)
2008: Robin Griffin '72, Carlmon Jones, Ron Page '74
2009: Bill Coghill '72, Norm Mordue '66
2010: Jim Jerome '76
2011: John Lally '82
2012: Tim Byrne '87 (posthumous)
2013: Pat Killorin '66
2014: Dick Beyer '53
2015: Frank Conover '91
2016: Tom Hermanowski '70
2017: J. Michael Anderson '77
2018: Rob Long '12, G'14
2019: Dan Conley '95
2021: John Lusardi ' 92
2022: Dick Murphy '67
2023: Rusty Mills '74
2024: Dennis Hartman '81
2025: Carl Jenkins '88
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Monday, September 07
Monday, September 07
Saturday, September 05
Saturday, September 05
