May 16, 2004
 Dan Allen, a longtime football coach at Holy Cross and
Boston University, died May 16 at his home in Westboro, Mass.,
at 48.
Mr. Allen began his career at Holy Cross, serving as an
assistant football coach from 1982 to 1989. He then accepted
the post of head coach at Boston University , where he worked
from 1990 to 1995; in 1993, the team attained an 11-0 record
in the regular season, earning Allen NCAA Division I-AA national “Coach
of the Year” honors. His overall record at Boston University
was 35-34.
Mr. Allen then returned to Holy Cross in 1996 as the head
football coach; he served in this capacity until 2003. Posting
an overall record of 26-63 at Holy Cross, he earned the New
England Sportswriters Division I-AA “Coach of the Year” award
in 2000; during this season the team attained a 7-4 record.
Mr. Allen had been the recipient of many other honors,
including 1981 wrestling “Coach of the Year” at
Hanover ( Ind. ) College. In 1993, he was also named “Coach
of the Year” by the New England Sportswriters; the
Gridiron Club of Boston; and the Yankee Conference. In 2003,
the Gridiron Club of Boston presented him with its John Baronian
Award.
Active with the American Football Coaches Association,
Mr. Allen had been a member of the Ethics Committee and,
also, of the Nominating Committee, which selects the association’s
board of trustees. In addition, he had served on the I-AA
All-America Selection Committee and, recently, on the Professional
Development Committee.
Founding a chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
during his first tenure at Holy Cross, Mr. Allen subsequently
started a chapter at Boston University.
A 1974 graduate of Purcell High School in Cincinnati, Ohio,
Mr. Allen received his bachelor’s degree from Hanover
College in 1978, and his master’s degree in school
administration from the University of Dayton in 1979. An
all-conference linebacker at Hanover College, he was inducted
into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.
Mr. Allen is survived by his wife, Laura; two sons; a daughter;
two brothers; four sisters; and many nephews and nieces.
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