May 21, 2008
IOWA CITY – University of Iowa Head Volleyball Coach Sharon Dingman has announced that Jason Allen will be on her staff as an assistant coach. The announcement came Wednesday from Dingman.
“I am thrilled to be at the University of Iowa,” Allen said. “I would like to thank Sharon and the Athletic Department for giving me this opportunity. I wouldn’t have come to Iowa if I didn’t strongly believe that we can compete and be successful in such a strong conference like the Big Ten. I am looking forward to the challenge and can’t wait to start working with a fantastic staff.”
Allen spent the last year as the 16U Head Coach for the Texas Tornados club program, which is considered one of the top volleyball clubs in the nation. Allen led the current team to a No. 17 national ranking and coached 10 players who received Division I scholarships. Four of Allen’s players were also named to the top 120 players in the country list by numerous publications. Allen led his team to a first place finish at the 16 Open Northeast Qualifier. He also served as the recruiting director and webmaster.
“We are excited to have someone like Jason on our staff,” Dingman said. “He was a head coach at one of the top clubs in the country and has years of experience at many different levels. It’s great to have someone with his experience in our program. Jason’s intensity excites me and his level of expectation will fit perfectly with our staff.”
Prior to his time with the Texas Tornadoes, Allen served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Sam Houston State University (2004-07). Allen helped lead Sam Houston State to a second place finish in the Southland Conference (2005) and coached a total of eight student-athletes to all-conference honors. Allen was also responsible for video scouting, recruit evaluating and summer camps.
Allen was an assistant coach for the Lone Star Youth High Performance Teams in both Austin and Houston, TX from 2005-06. In 2005, his team finished fifth at the USA High Performance Championships and in 2006, the team finished 10th.
Allen began his collegiate coaching career at the Division II level, where he was a graduate assistant at Southwest Minnesota State. In his one season, Southwest Minnesota State was crowned co-champions of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and appeared in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. He also helped coach five all-conference and two all-region student-athletes.
Allen moved on to North Dakota State University, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator (2002-04). North Dakota State won a share of the North Central Conference title in 2003 and qualified fro the NCAA Division II National Tournament twice, including a “Sweet 16” appearance in 2003. Allen helped lead four student-athletes to all-region honors and two to all-America honors in 2003. He also recruited and signed the North Central Region Freshman of the Year in 2003.
Allen played one season at Tomball College in Tomball, TX, before transferring to Oklahoma Baptist University. Allen helped Tomball to a ninth place finish at the NIRSA Collegiate Volleyball Championships and served as a player/coach for the Oklahoma Baptist club team. Allen was a member of three state tournament club teams and was named to the all-tournament team twice. He was also a member of the International Sports Federation volleyball team for two summers traveling throughout North Africa, playing various national teams and hosting clinics for junior national teams.
Allen graduated from Oklahoma Baptist (2000) with a degree in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in communications, business administration and psychology. He worked towards his Masters of Education in wellness and human performance at Southwest Minnesota State University. Allen also completed hours towards his Masters of Exercise Science in sport pedagogy at North Dakota State University.