Terry Allen enters his sixth season at the helm of the Missouri State program with one of the toughest Division I FCS schedules in the country on his plate and a young team anxious to prove itself in elite company.
Allen was named Missouri State's 19th head football coach on December 20, 2005.
In his inaugural season at Missouri State, Allen inherited a senior-heavy team that finished 2-9. However, the Bears dropped four games by a touchdown or less that season and lost another contest by 10 points. The team landed three players on the 2006 all-conference list and set the foundation for the program's future.
Allen then took his charges to an exciting 6-5 campaign in 2007, the biggest improvement for a Missouri State team in 19 years. The Bears were 5-1 at home in year two and produced 36.3 points per game, MSU's best scoring average ever for an 11-game season. MSU also scored 49.5 points a game for the team's six home contests.
Missouri State also knocked off three ranked opponents in 2007 and landed three on the All-MVFC squad. Sophomore tight end Clay Harbor and freshman lineman David Arkin joined Nathan Stokes for league honors.
Harbor was also named to the AP Third-Team All-America squad, while senior TB Gerald Davis set a school record with 19 rushing touchdowns.
In 2008, the Bears continued to make strides under Allen's leadership. Despite a 4-7 overall record, the substance of the team's performance showed a 3-3 road mark, which matched the school's most road victories since 1996. Likewise, the team's 3-5 record in the new-look Missouri Valley Football Conference equalled the team's most league wins since 1993. MSU also lost two games by margins of eight points or less along the way.
Even more impressive in 2008 was the effort put forth by the program's inventory of underclassmen. Harbor, a junior, earned All-MVFC first team honors for the second straight year, while moving up to Second Team on the AP All-America list. Joining Harbor on the all-conference squad were sophomore guard Arkin and second-year quarterback Cody Kirby.
In 2009, the Bears notched their second winning campaign in three years under Allen, once again going 6-5 and 4-4 in the MVFC. Missouri State was 3-2 on the road, including first-ever wins at Youngstown State and North Dakota State to complement the squad's first victory at Western Illinois since 2001.
Eight players were recognized by the MVFC as all-conference performers, including first-teamers Harbor, Arkin and Valley Newcomer of the Year Antoine Wilkinson (LB).
Harbor became Allen's first Missouri State player drafted into the NFL when he was snagged in the fourth round of the 2010 Draft by the Eagles.
Last season, Allen's Bears went undefeated at home, marking the first time since 1992 that an MSU team had gone unbeaten at Plaster Sports Complex. The 2010 Bears also knocked off three Top 25 opponents -- No. 20 Youngstown State, No. 18 Western Illinois and No. 17 North Dakota State. MSU also beat two Division I playoff opponents, including eventual national quarterfinalist North Dakota State, en route to tying for third place in the competitive MVFC standings.
The Bears landed seven players on the 2010 All-MVFC Team, including Arkin and Wilkinson on the first team, junior WR Jermaine Saffold and senior safety Skylar Smith on the second team, plus honorable mention picks in junior TB Chris Douglas and seniors Kirby and OLB Terian Washington.
Arkin became the second Bear picked in the NFL Draft in as many years when the Dallas Cowboys picked him up in the fourth round, capping a consensus All-America season for the standout tackle.
Allen came to MSU for his second stint in the league. When he left UNI after the 1996 season, his 75-26 (.743) record made him the winningest coach in league history.
His Panther teams won or shared league titles seven straight seasons from 1990-96 and competed in the NCAA playoffs each of his last seven seasons at UNI. The Panthers advanced to the national semifinals in 1992 and 1996.
Allen was named MVFC Coach of the Year five times in his last six seasons at UNI and was named Kodak Regional Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1996.
Allen's UNI teams did not lose a home conference game in his eight years as head coach. He lost two games in those eight seasons to Illinois State and the other league schools only beat him once each. Starting in 1992, UNI was nationally ranked for 87 consecutive weeks.
Allen followed more than 20 years at UNI with five seasons as head coach at Kansas (1997-2001). He later spent four seasons as associate head coach, tight ends coach and special teams coordinator at Iowa State (2002-05).
Allen's teams were 20-33 his five seasons as head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks. Included in that tenure were wins over nationally-ranked Colorado, a win over Oklahoma, and three victories over arch-rival Missouri. He also guided Kansas to its 500th all-time win in 1997 and opened his final season at KU with a 24-10 win over Missouri State in 2001.
Allen's KU and UNI tenures finished with a collective 95-59 overall record, including a 63-4 record when his teams were ahead at halftime. Allen's squads were 31-15 in games decided by seven points or fewer. He also tutored nine future NFL players during that stint, including Arizona Cardinals all-pro quarterback Kurt Warner who was the 1999 and 2001 NFL Offensive Player of the Year for the St. Louis Rams.
Former all-pro linebacker Bryce Paup, the 1995 NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Buffalo Bills, also played for Allen.
Moving to Iowa State as associate head coach in 2002, Allen renewed a lengthy relationship with Cyclones head coach Dan McCarney who was Allen's prep track coach in Iowa City.
In Allen's four seasons at Iowa State, the Cyclones went to three bowl games with Allen coaching special teams.
He graduate from UNI with a degree in physical education in 1979 and immediately joined Stan Sheriff's Panther staff as a graduate assistant coach.
He moved to a full-time position the next year and stayed on the staff when Sheriff retired and handed the reins to Darrell Mudra in 1983. During his decade as a UNI assistant, Allen had responsibility at various times for quarterbacks, offensive backs and wide receivers.
Allen was a standout prep quarterback at West High School in Iowa City and would start three seasons as UNI's top QB.
In his head coaching career, he has mentored 19 AP All-America players and 193 all-conference selections.
Allen's father, Robert, was a football player and national champion swimmer at Iowa. The elder Allen served as an Iowa assistant football coach and head men's swimming coach for 16 years.
He and his wife, Lynn, have three children; Angela, Chase and Alex.
