Tom Allen Named AFCA Coach of the Year

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen became the third Hoosier football coach to win the AFCA national coach of the year award on Tuesday as he was named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year.

Allen led the Hoosiers to a 6-2 overall record and finished the season ranked 12th in the AP Poll. It is just the sixth time the Hoosiers have finished the season ranked by the AP and the first since 1988. The Hoosiers season included three wins against Top-25 foes, climbed as high as 7th in the AP Poll and earned a berth into the Outback Bowl against Mississippi. Allen was also selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2020.

Allen was selected by a vote of the Active AFCA members at FBS schools. The AFCA has named a Coach of the Year since 1935. The Werner Ladder AFCA FBS Coach of the Year award is the oldest and most prestigious of all the Coach of the Year awards and is the only one chosen exclusively by coaches.

Werner Ladder became the title sponsor of the AFCA FBS Regional and National Coach of the Year awards in August of 2019. Werner is the world leader in ladders and has a complete line of climbing products designed for working at heights.

“Werner is once again excited to be the sponsor and associated with such a prestigious award,” said Stacy Gardella, vice president of brand marketing at WernerCo. “Coach Allen led Indiana to one of its greatest seasons in 2020 as the Hoosiers ‘stepped up’ to every challenge they faced.”

"Tom is very deserving of this honor, which recognizes the remarkable job that he has done in propelling our football program to a level of success that we have not enjoyed in decades," IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson said. "I'm particularly pleased that this honor comes from the AFCA and his fellow coaches, who appreciate the outstanding job that Tom has done with our program. This is a great day for not only Tom and our players, but also our department and Indiana University."

2020 was Allen’s fourth season as the head coach of the Hoosiers and has a 24-22 record including a 15-19 mark in Big Ten play. Allen has led the Hoosiers to back-to-back bowl games in 2019 and 2020 and his first game coaching Indiana was in the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl. Allen is the third Indiana head coach to earn Werner Ladder AFCA FBS National Coach of the Year. The other two were Bo McMillin in 1945 and John Pont in 1967.