- Dan Allen (American football)
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Dan Allen Sport(s) Football Biographical details Born 1956 Died May 16, 2004 (aged 48) Playing career 1974–1977 Hanover Position(s) Linebacker Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1978
1982–1989
1990–1995
1996–2003Dayton (assistant)
Holy Cross (assistant)
Boston University
Holy CrossHead coaching record Overall 63–95 Statistics College Football Data Warehouse Accomplishments and honors Championships 1993 Yankee Conference Champions
1993 Lambert Cup winnerAwards 1993 ECAC Team of the Year
1993 Division I-AA Team of the Year
1993 AFCA Coach of the Year
1993 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
1993 Yankee Conference Coach of the Year
1993 Greater Boston Coach of the Year
2× New England Coach of the Year (1993, 2000)Dan Allen (1956 – May 16, 2004) was the head college football coach at Boston University from 1990–1995 and at the College of the Holy Cross from 1996–2003. Allen began his coaching career at the University of Dayton as a graduate assistant where Allen earned a master's degree in 1979. He then served as an assistant coach at Holy Cross from 1982–1989 before moving on to his first head coaching job at Boston University. After a six year stint for the Terriers, Allen finished his coaching career back at Holy Cross, where he led the Crusaders before being fired following a 1–11 campaign.
Contents
Boston University's 1993 Cinderella season
Allen's most successful season as a coach came in 1993 with Boston University. Between 1990 and 1992, the Terriers football team had combined to win 12 total games versus 21 losses. Heading into the 1993 season they had been picked to finish near the bottom of the Yankee Conference standings. What happened instead turned out to be one of the single biggest turnarounds in NCAA Division I-AA football history.
The Terriers began their season with a 45–0 win over the University of Maine; this sparked the momentum that would carry through the rest of the regular season as Boston finished with an unblemished 11–0 record (8–0 Yankee). It is the school's only undefeated season and it had set a new high mark for wins as well. The Terriers earned their first Division I-AA playoffs berth in many years. In the first round game, the Terriers defeated the Kurt Warner-led Northern Iowa Panthers, 27–21, in double overtime. The season would end one week later in the quarterfinals against Idaho when they lost 21–14. Both the 2003 Boston team and Allen himself garnered national recognition, awards and accolades for their Cinderella season.
In 1994, the Terriers once again performed well and finished with a 9–3 record, making the 1993 and 1994 seasons' combined overall record 21–4, which is the best two-year span in Boston University history.
Personal
Dan Allen was married to his wife Laura and had three children together: Mark, Taylor and Danielle. He died on May 16, 2004 by succumbing to complications of multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome.
Head coaching record
Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Rank# Boston University Terriers (Yankee Conference) (1990–1995) 1990 Boston U. 5–6 4–4 6th 1991 Boston U. 4–7 3–5 5th 1992 Boston U. 3–8 2–6 8th 1993 Boston U. 12–1 8–0 (New England) 1st L 14–21 Division I-AA Quarterfinals 1994 Boston U. 9–3 6–2 (New England) 2nd L 23–30 Division I-AA First Round 1995 Boston U. 3–8 1–7 (New England) 11th Holy Cross Crusaders (Patriot League) (1996–2003) 1996 Holy Cross 2–9 1–4 6th 1997 Holy Cross 4–7 2–4 4th 1998 Holy Cross 2–9 1–5 7th 1999 Holy Cross 3–8 2–4 5th 2000 Holy Cross 7–4 4–2 2nd 2001 Holy Cross 4–6 3–4 5th 2002 Holy Cross 4–8 2–5 7th 2003 Holy Cross 1–11 1–6 8th Total: 63–95 National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. External links
Boston University Terriers head football coaches No coach (1884) • No team (1885) • No coach (1886–1887) • No team (1888–1890) • No coach (1891–1897) • No team (1898–1903) • No coach (1904–1905) • No team (1906–1916) • No coach (1917) • John MacDonald (1918–1919) • Percy L. Wendell (1920) • Charles Whelan (1921–1925) • Reggie Brown (1926–1929) • Hilary Mahaney (1930–1931) • Myles Lane (1932) • John Harmon (1933) • Pat Hanley (1934–1941) • Walt Holmer (1942) • No team (1943–1944) • Robert McKelvey (1945) • Walt Holmer (1946) • Aldo Donelli (1947–1956) • Steve Sinko (1957–1963) • Warren Schmakel (1964–1968) • Larry Naviaux (1969–1972) • Paul Kemp (1973–1976) • Rick Taylor (1977–1984) • Steve Stetson (1985–1987) • Chris Palmer (1988–1989) • Dan Allen (1990–1995) • Tom Masella (1996–1997)
Holy Cross Crusaders head football coaches A. C. N. Peterson (1896–1897) • John J. Corbett # (1898) • Maurice Connor (1898–1902) • Frank Cavanaugh (1903–1905) • George King (1906) • Timothy Larkin (1907–1912) • Harry Von Kersberg (1913) • Luke Kelly (1914–1917) • Bart Sullivan (1918) • Cleo A. O'Donnell (1919–1929) • John McEwan (1930–1932) • Arthur Corcoran # (1932) • Eddie Anderson (1933–1938) • Joe Sheeketski (1939–1941) • Anthony Scanton (1942–1944) • John DaGrosa (1945–1947) • Bill Osmanski (1948–1949) • Eddie Anderson (1950–1964) • Mel Massucco (1965–1966) • Tom Boisture (1967–1968) • Bill Whitton (1969–1970) • Ed Doherty (1971–1975) • Neil Whelwright (1976–1980) • Rick E. Carter (1981–1985) • Mark Duffner (1986–1991) • Peter Vaas (1992–1995) • Dan Allen (1996–2003) • Tom Gilmore (2004–)
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.Eddie Robinson Award winners 1987: Duffner | 1988: Russo | 1989: Russell | 1990: McDowell | 1991: Ault | 1992: Taaffe | 1993: Allen | 1994: Tressel | 1995: Nutt | 1996: Barbier | 1997: Talley | 1998: Johnson | 1999: Matthews | 2000: Glenn | 2001: Lembo | 2002: Tate | 2003: Ayers | 2004: Kill | 2005: McDonnell | 2006: Moore | 2007: Farley | 2008: Matthews | 2009: Frazier | 2010: Samuel
AFCA Division I FCS Coach of the Year winners 1983: Dempsey | 1984: Arnold | 1985: Sheridan | 1986: Russell | 1987: Duffner | 1988: Satterfield | 1989: Russell | 1990: Stowers | 1991: Tressel | 1992: Taaffe | 1993: Allen | 1994: Tressel | 1995: Read | 1996: Tellier | 1997: Talley | 1998: Whipple | 1999: P. Johnson | 2000: P. Johnson | 2001: B. Johnson | 2002: Harbaugh | 2003: Biddle | 2004: Matthews | 2005: Moore | 2006: Moore | 2007: Moore | 2008: London | 2009: Talley | 2010: Keeler
Categories:- 1956 births
- 2004 deaths
- Boston University Terriers football coaches
- Dayton Flyers football coaches
- Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches
- University of Dayton alumni
- Hanover Panthers football players
- Players of American football from Ohio
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