BLOOMINGTON — His team may have been denied a place in the Big Ten Championship Game, but IU's Tom Allen will be the conference's Coach of the Year.
The announcement came Thursday. Allen's Hoosiers defied expectations during the COVID-shortened season, finishing 6-1 — including wins against traditional powers Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin. Indiana is one of three teams in the country with three Top 25 victories.
IU's only loss was by seven to Ohio State. The Hoosiers are ranked 7th in the country in both major polls and have been in the Top Ten during much of the season.
Allen joins Bill Mallory in 1986 and 87 as the only Indiana head coach to win the Big Ten honor, and is in the running for the Dodd Trophy and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award.
With their victory over Maryland, the Hoosiers clinched a winning league record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1987-88 and for the sixth time overall. Indiana's six conference wins are tied for the most in school history (1967, 1987)
In four full seasons at Bloomington, Allen is 24-20.
