Posted: Jan 14, 2013
Allen, a native of Charlottesville, VA and graduate of Roanoke College, is considered to be one of the most prolific college basketball players in Virginia Intercollegiate Basketball History. Allen's college career started in 1967 at Roanoke College where he was the first African-American student-athlete to attend Roanoke and led the Maroons to its first NCAA Tournament berth as a freshman. His sophomore year, he led the team in scoring and made honorable mention All-American, Virginia College Division Player of the Year and first team All-Mason-Dixon.
Allen broke every scoring and rebounding mark as a junior at Roanoke and was once again named Virginia College Division Player of the Year. Rounding out his college basketball playing career in 1970-71, Allen became the all-time leader in points (2,780) and rebounds (1,758) at all NCAA levels in Virginia. Over his four seasons at Roanoke College, he averaged 24 points per game, 15.2 rebounds per game and set 18 individual records. Franklin Allen was the first individual to ever be named to the All-state team all four years.
Overall, Roanoke compiled an 82 win, 34 loss record during Allen's career including two Mason-Dixon tournament victories. He was a three-time State of Virginia College Basketball Player of the year, two-time All-American, and the first player in Roanoke College basketball history to have his jersey retired. It is safe to say that Franklin Allen had a prolific college basketball career.
After college, he became a high school coach and in three years won two district championships and was named Central Virginia Coach of the Year. A former assistant coach here at Roanoke, Allen had a two-year stint with UMBC he served for one season at Radford University as an assistant.
He served as Head Coach at Virginia Tech, Tennessee State and Howard. At fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) school Howard University, Allen inherited a program that was 3-52 its previous two years. He immediately made an impact, winning eight games in conference in 2000-01, 10 overall, and followed it in 2001-02 with 11 MEAC wins and an 18-13 record. That season Allen scored the first winning season for the Bison in 16 years and took them to the MEAC Championship; it was their first trip to the finals in 10 years. He went on to win 52 games in five seasons at Howard.
Allen enjoyed many of his accolades while at Tennessee State University. He won three Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Championships with the Tigers, 1993, 1994 and 1995. He went to two NCAA Tournaments in 1993 and 1994 and had five appearances in the OVC Final Four. He was a two-time OVC Coach of the Year, National Coach of the Year from the American Sportswire in 1993 and National Black Coach of the Year the same season. That same year the USA Today named him Honorable Mention National Coach of the Year.
He also served as Head Assistant Coach at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). He led the Retrievers to one of the best finishes in school history with an America East regular season and Tournament Championship, as well as a 15th seed in the 2008 NCAA National Championship. Allen is currently the head coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
The Class of 2013 features:
- Franklin Allen, Roanoke College All-American and all-time leader in points and rebounds in Virginia history;
- Cornell Brown, Virginia Tech All-American, 1997 6th round pick of the Baltimore Ravens and 2000 Super Bowl champion;
- Lawrence Burton, 1st round draft pick in the 1975 NFL Draft for the New Orleans Saints and former Olympic sprinter in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany;
- Dean Ehlers, first Director of Athletics for James Madison University and conference president during the founding of the Colonial Athletic Association;
- Robert Pratt, Baltimore Colts and Seattle Seahawks standout where he started 105 consecutive games and enjoyed a 12 year career in the NFL;
- Bill Roth, 10 time Virginia Sportscaster of the Year, the “Voice of the Hokies” and lead play-by-play announcer for Virginia Tech football and basketball;
- Dick Tarrant, coached 12 seasons for the University of Richmond basketball team where he amassed 240 wins and guided the team to five NCAA and four NIT tournaments.
Eddie Webb, President of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame & Museum, notes, “The Class of 2013 exemplifies a mixture of longevity, quality, and outstanding athletic ability. These individuals not only excelled in Virginia, but also at the national or international level. This class denotes a small sample of the quality of athletes Virginia continues to produce.”
To celebrate this occasion, Roanoke College will be holding an alumni reception at Roger Brown's from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., on Saturday, April 27. We encourage everyone to come to the reception, spend time with your fellow Maroons, and congratulate Frankie personally on this accomplishment. Click here for more details and to register for the event at Roger Brown's.
In addition to the alumni event, Roanoke College is also working with the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame to give you the opportunity to attend the Induction Banquet itself.
The 42nd annual induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 6:00 PM at the Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel & Waterfront Conference Center as the headline event of Hall of Fame weekend. Tickets go on sale January 14, 2013. For more information, call (757) 393-8031 or visit www.vshfm.com
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Have you seen our brand new Live Game Portal? Click HERE to watch live webcasts of each scheduled home athletic event, along with Live Stats which have now been integrated into the live video feed. Also, share your thoughts on Twitter by posting to @rcmaroons or using the featured hashtag in the live video portal!
