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December 9-9, 2020
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Allen Greene

Athletic Director, Auburn University

Allen Greene, known as a dynamic and energetic leader, is in his third year at Auburn after being named the program’s 15th director of athletics on Jan. 18, 2018. Allen served in the same capacity at the University at Buffalo from November 2015 until his arrival at Auburn.

One of the youngest athletics directors in the NCAA Power Five ranks, at 43, Allen is highly regarded by his peers. He is actively engaged in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), in which he was recently nominated to serve as an Executive Committee member, Minority Opportunities Athletics Association (MOAA), and LEAD1.

Recently, Allen has taken a leadership role in social justice issues, both on campus and industry wide. With a unique ability to respectfully address differences, Allen is guided by his philosophy as an educator, and believes it’s important for student-athletes to develop their “North Star” relative to their education, position and participation in social justice matters.

This summer, Allen commissioned a departmental Inclusion and Race Relations Task Force. This 20-member task force included staff members, coaches, student-athletes and external stakeholders, and the department has already started implementing its recommendations. While working on social justice issues within intercollegiate athletics as a member of NACDA’s inclusion and diversity task force and co-chair of the Black AD Alliance, Allen’s focus is helping student-athletes understand the advantages and disadvantages of their engagement around social issues.

As someone who is passionate about serving the holistic person, Allen’s motto of “care more about the success of others than your own” has led to Auburn’s success on and off the fields and courts of play.

Under Allen’s leadership 30 programs have finished ranked in the top 25 nationally, including 10 programs in the top 10.

The Auburn equestrian program has won a pair of national championships since his arrival and the men’s and women’s golf programs each advanced to the national semifinals. The 2018-19 academic year was historic as the men’s basketball program made its first-ever trip to the Final Four, while the baseball program returned to the College World Series for the first time in 22 years. It marked just the fourth time in Division I history a program sent a team to the Final Four and CWS while winning a football bowl game in the same academic year.

Academically during Allen’s time at Auburn, 276 athletes have earned their degrees and 525 have been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Motivated to educate, support, and develop student-athletes at every moment, Allen works with Auburn’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to foster community service and a spirit of unity.

During his time at Auburn, student-athletes, coaches, and staff have volunteered to clean up and rebuild local communities affected by tornados. Auburn’s SAAC launched a voter education initiative. Allen spearheaded Auburn’s Together We Will initiative in the fall of 2020 to represent the oneness Auburn Athletics seeks to instill in its teams and community while supporting efforts to create a diverse student body.

Allen’s tenure as director of athletics at the University at Buffalo is noted for success on the field and in the classroom, as well as donor and corporate development efforts that led to an array of facility enhancements.

Competitively, UB Athletics sent four teams to the NCAA tournament in a two-year span including men’s and women’s basketball in 2016, the first time a men’s and women’s MAC school won both titles since 2002.

In the classroom, UB sports teams achieved a GPA of 3.00 or better for 11 consecutive semesters, with football earning its highest team GPA in the program’s Division I history. Allen was instrumental in building donor and corporate support for UB athletics, including arranging an apparel partnership with Nike.

He also spearheaded development of the UB athletics facilities master plan and led several capital projects, including the approval of an $18 million, 92,000 square-foot indoor practice facility that had been on the docket for nearly two decades. Prior to being named director of athletics at the University at Buffalo, Allen served as the senior associate athletic director for administration and deputy director of athletics at UB. As deputy director of athletics, Allen oversaw the day-to-day operations of the athletic department and was in charge of UB’s football and men’s and women’s basketball programs.

Allen also has experience working in the Southeastern Conference, having led several key business development and fundraising functions during his three years at the University of Mississippi. Prior to joining Ole Miss, Allen spent two years working as an athletics fundraiser for Notre Dame and five years in its compliance office. A graduate of Notre Dame with a degree in finance, Allen was a three-year starter for the Fighting Irish baseball team. He was selected in the ninth round of the 1998 MLB draft by the New York Yankees and played three years in its minor league system. He later earned his master’s degree from Indiana University’s South Bend campus.

Allen and his wife, Christy, have three children, daughters Rian and Seneca, and son Samuel.