For the second time in 15 months, Indiana head football coach Tom Allen is getting a new contract.
Indiana officials announced Monday that Allen's contract had been restructured to pay him an annual compensation of $4.9 million per year through 2027. The move comes on the heels of Allen earning Big Ten Coach of the Year and national coach of the year honors and after Allen signed a new seven-year contract worth $27.3 million last December.
In a release, Indiana Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson said Allen has proven his worth.
"Tom Allen has proven himself to be not only the right person for our student-athletes and our program, but one of the best football coaches in the country," said Dolson. "The enthusiasm and outlook for our program is at an all-time high, and the future of Indiana Football is in great hands. I look forward to Tom leading our program for many years to come. "I thank President McRobbie and the Board of Trustees for their support throughout this process, and I thank Tom for his commitment to building something very special in Bloomington. I could not be more excited about the future of Indiana Football."
Meeting with members of the media Monday, Allen, who guided Indiana to back-to-back January bowl games the last two seasons and a 6-2 record last year, admitted he was appreciative for Dolson and the commitment to the football program.
“Just really appreciate all of them, the leadership at Indiana. I’ve said all along I want to be at a place that values our football program, is going to invest in our football program and will allow us to have the infrastructure to do great things here, and that's what I want us to be able to do here. Special time for us, and very blessed and appreciative," Allen said.
Allen said the commitment from the university has allowed people, including recruits, to look at Indiana in a different scope.
"When you talk to recruits and their families, they want to know are you going to be coaching my son when he's a sophomore, junior and senior because that's a big deal . Things like this send a strong message and shows the commitment from the university and myself and our family to being here. That means a lot to me, and puts a lot of power behind your words. This is the action of people here, and attribute to our coaching staff and all the people who have been here. It speaks so strongly to the culture we have created here, and it has taken so many people and several years. I want to continue to build off the foundation we have laid here at Indiana and be what I have envisioned it to be, and compete at the highest level in this conference and across this country. Our university has chosen to invest in our coaching staff and everyone who is a part of this football program," Allen said.
Allen said he was able to "take care of his guys," as well as his assistants have received a bump in pay, as well.
"Been able to reward those guys for their hard work, and those are things we have been able to address," Allen said.
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