 |  |
| Michael Allen |
 allen@cua.edu 202-319-5286 |
Dr. Mike Allen, in his fifth year as Catholic University’s
director of athletics, has led the Cardinal athletic department to
soaring heights of success. His performance was recognized by the
school administration with his spring 2009 promotion to associate
vice president. The stellar academic and athletic achievements by
CUA’s student-athletes have been hallmarks of his tenure.
Most recently, the 2009 Cardinal men’s and women’s
soccer teams won conference championships and qualified for the
NCAA Tournament. This followed the women’s lacrosse
team’s back-to-back league titles (2008-09) and consecutive
trips to the NCAA regional finals. The baseball team earned
conference championships in 2008 and 2009, while the 2008 football
team won the school’s first postseason game in 73 years. The
CUA men’s basketball team captured conference titles in 2006
and 2007 and qualified for two NCAA Tournaments. The field hockey
and softball teams have enjoyed program-best victory totals.
One of Allen’s first major tasks at CUA was moving the
Cardinals athletic department into a new conference. So he and six
other athletic directors of like-minded educational and athletic
philosophies began discussions in the winter of 2005 to form a new
league. The Landmark Conference, with the support and guidance of
the presidents of each institution, began play in the fall of 2007
with eight members. The conference supports CUA’s academic
mission, provides competitive opportunities with similar schools
and has expanded the department’s recruiting base throughout
the Mid-Atlantic.
Allen has increased annual fund
-raising through a re-structured “Cardinal Club”
campaign and facilitated significant improvements to virtually
every athletic facility on campus. Enhancements include a FieldTurf
playing surface in Cardinal Stadium, a complete renovation of
Talbot Baseball Field, a new softball facility, a new Bermuda grass
soccer surface and a re-surfaced gym floor. A campaign to renovate
the interior of DuFour Center will begin soon.
Before CUA
Allen came to CUA after serving as associate athletic director for
student services at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton,
Fla., since 2002. Prior to that, he worked for two years as
football program director for the Counseling Program of
Intercollegiate Athletes at the University of Connecticut
. He began his professional career in the same program in 1993,
serving in various roles supporting student-athletes and
coaches.
Allen earned his Ph.D. in the sociology of sport during his time
at Connecticut. His doctoral research focused on how athletic team
communities bolster the intellectual development of intercollegiate
athletes. His master’s degree, also from Connecticut, is in
sports management.
While receiving his bachelor’s in sociology from Trinity
College in Hartford, CT, Allen played four years of basketball
(1988-92) and served as co-captain in his senior year. He finished
his career as the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers and
was recognized as the ECAC outstanding scholar athlete.
Allen and his wife, Beth, live in Silver Spring, Md., with their
daughter Maya, 6, and son James, 4.
