Hoosiers Now

Tom Allen, 1-on-1: Former Indiana Kid Thrilled to Have Mike Woodson Come Home

Tom Allen has always been a huge Indiana basketball fan, and now he loves working side by side – sort of – with new coach Mike Woodson in Indiana's athletic department.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Growing up in New Castle, Ind., Tom Allen was a huge Indiana basketball fan. The ties between that city and the state's premier basketball program run deep.

Allen, Indiana's football coach for five years now, is 51 years old. And he's still a huge Indiana basketball fan. And now he loves to be working in the same athletic department as Mike Woodson, a former Indiana basketball legend himself from 1976 to 1980.

Tom Allen remembers the 63-year-old Woodson as a player – sort of.

"You've got to remember, I was pretty young when Coach Woodson played here,'' Allen said. "I was just a little boy, like I guess 5-6-7 maybe eight years old. My age group when I was an huge Indiana fan was when Steve (Alford, also a New Castle legend) was here (at Indiana from 1984 to 1987), because I was a seventh grader when Steve was a senior in high school. My friends and I, we were all huge Indiana basketball fans.

"Kent Benson, he's from New Castle too, and he played with Mike, so that connection was there when I was little. They were teammates and they are close, and that created the connection with that team. I knew him from being from Indianapolis and Broad Ripple, and that he was a great scorer and a great player. I know all the history of that for sure. I'm just so thrilled to be able to have him back here. I know his passion for this state and this university and what he's already done with the team. Obviously they haven't played any games yet, I get that. I'm just really looking forward to getting to know all of those guys.''

Woodson was hired on March 29, and Allen was among the first to greet him on his first day.

They've been able to have a few conversations thus far, but not many. They're both busy recruiting right now.

"I've definitely had a chance to talk with him and meet with him, and I'm just so excited to have him back home. That's a name we all know well. I'm genuinely a huge basketball fan. I really enjoy it. I want to go to the games, and I've always been that way.

"Obviously, this place is special to me and Indiana basketball is special to me. He obviously has our full support, and I can't wait to see his team take the court. He's really recruiting well right now. It's all about players. We're all smarter coaches when we have better players. Just getting those guys to believe and bond and play really well as a team.

Allen loves having Woodson as part of this Indiana group of coaches among the school's 24 teams. He said the bonds run deep among all of the Indiana coaches, and they're all well aware that they're all in this together. Regardless of the sport, the gender or the time of year, all those jerseys say Indiana across the front.

Allen and Woodson traveled down to North Carolina together a few weeks ago when Indiana's men's soccer team was playing in the national championship game against Marshall. The Hoosiers lost, but it meant a lot to both men that they were there. They're all big supporters of each other.

"I texted (Indiana men's soccer coach) Todd (Yeagley) and wished him good luck. We do that at a lot, all of the coaches,'' Allen said. "We don't get a lot of face-to-face time with each other now, and COVID's created a lot of that now. The video, being able to text them and congratulate them, it's all nice.

"I get the same from them. I get texts all the time, too. We have a great family of coaches here, with a lot of respect from one another, get a lot of encouragement from each other. We're all in this together and we need each other. I need their support, and I'm happy to give them my support. We're all in this together.''

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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