BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — IU head football coach Tom Allen is following in his father's footsteps and growing the athletic facilities at Franklin College.
The IU coach's father, Tom Allen Sr., was a 1961 alumnus of Franklin College. As a member of the football team in 1958, the elder Allen went to then-coach Stewart "Red" Faught and asked him to bring in weight training equipment. That was the start of weight training on campus.
Now, in 2021, the younger Allen is gifting Franklin College with a state-of-the-art weight training facility to be housed in the college's new Johnson Memorial Health Athletics Annex. It will be the second weight room on campus, allowing for more space and flexibility for student-athletes, non-athlete students, faculty and staff to train.
"This gift to Franklin College presented our family an opportunity to give back to an Indiana community, while at the same time honoring dad in a way that reflects his passion for instilling in us the value of hard work," said Tom and Tracy Allen.
Franklin Athletic Director Andrew Hendricks said the new facility will give the college an advantage in recruiting new athletes and developing current ones.
The Johnson Memorial Health Athletics Annex is an indoor multi-use facility made possible by a $1 million commitment from Johnson Memorial Health. In addition to the weight room, it will also house retractable batting cages for the baseball and softball teams and similar equipment for use by men's and women's golf.
Construction on the new building is scheduled to begin during the fall semester.
