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Indiana’s Tom Allen receives major honor after leading Hoosiers to 6-1 record

Teddy Rydquist

By Teddy Rydquist

Published:

Although his team’s matchup with the rival Purdue Boilermakers was called off, Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen still received some good news on Tuesday, as it was announced he had been named the Werner Ladder American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region 3 Coach of the Year.

Joining Bill Mallory, who was recognized in 1986 and 1987, Allen is the second Hoosiers coach to earn Region 3 Coach of the Year honors.

The AFCA selects five regional winners in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, Division III, and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

From these regional winners, one national winner at each level will be chosen during the AFCA Convention on January 12, which will be held virtually.

First gifted in 1935, two Indiana coaches, Bo McMillin in 1945 and John Pont in 1967, have taken home the National Coach of the Year Award.

Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers captured the honor in 2019, with Joe Paterno in 2005 being the last Big Ten coach to do so.

Standing at 6-1, the No. 12 Hoosiers’ lone loss came at the hands of the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus on November 21. Indiana was initially scheduled to play Purdue in their regular season finale on December 5, but the game was canceled because of coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns within both programs, the same reason for Tuesday’s second cancelation.

With a bowl game still presenting Allen and his team with the opportunity to reach seven wins, the coach is also a finalist for the Dodd Trophy and the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award.

Teddy Rydquist

A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Rydquist has been contributing to Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition since 2019. He can be found on Twitter @TeddyRydquist.