ROH 047-Allen-Kovach

Ermal Allen

Ermal Allen lettered for three years (1939-41) at quarterback for Coach A.D. Kirwan and guided the Wildcats to three consecutive winning seasons. In addition to football, he also played varsity basketball for three seasons under Coach Adolph Rupp and helped pace the Wildcats to a pair of SEC Tournament championships. Following military service, Allen came to Kentucky in 1946 as an assistant coach before playing professionally with the Cleveland Browns in 1947. He returned to UK in 1948 to be an assistant coach until 1961. His assignments included offensive backs coach, head coach of the freshman team, and defensive coordinator. During Allen’s time as an assistant, the Wildcats racked up 12 winning seasons. Following his success at Kentucky, Allen spent 22 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (1962-83) as an assistant coach and Director of Research and Development. He made five trips to the Super Bowl during his tenure with Dallas. 

Jim Kovach

As one of the all-time leading tacklers in UK history, Jim Kovach is credited with 521 tackles, including a season high 164 in 1978 (different in found stats). He was a four-year letterman who received medical hardship ruling in 1977 because of a shoulder injury, but made a comeback and was voted a consensus first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in 1978. As on off the field accomplishment, he was named to the Academic All-SEC Honor Roll four times. In addition to being named second-team All-SEC in 1975 and 1976, Kovach was named the squad’s Most Valuable Player, an Academic All-American, and received the 1978 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award. He played in the 1978 Hula Bowl and received a 1979 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. The linebacker was a fourth-round draft choice by the New Orleans Saints in 1979 and played there until 1985 when he moved to San Francisco to play for one year.