Matt Allen joined the Shippensburg Women's Basketball team in the fall of 2022 and is in his fourth season as an assistant coach with the Raiders.
In 2024, Allen was one of just 32 coaches spanning NCAA Divisions I, II and III who were selected to participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Next Generation Institute -- a high-level education program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become head coaches in the NCAA.
In Allen's first season, the Raiders achieved 25 wins and an 18-4 conference mark. Ariel Jones, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's all-time leading scorer (2,806 points) shattered the all-time PSAC single-game scoring record (51 points) and the PSAC single-season scoring record with 795 points as SU made it to the NCAA Atlantic Region Semifinals, where they fell to eventual NCAA Division II semifinalists Glenville State.
Allen has more than 23 years of collegiate coaching experience spanning all three NCAA divisions of college basketball. He arrives at Shippensburg after serving as the head women's basketball coach at Wilson College from 2016-21. During his tenure, Wilson posted a 16-12 record in 2018-19 – the best single-season record in 17 years – and made its first-ever Colonial State Athletic Conference (CSAC) Semifinal and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship appearance.
While at Wilson, Allen helped the Phoenix become one of the top defensive teams in the CSAC, holding opponents to an average of 52.4 points per game and ranking No. 26 nationally. Among the players Allen coached at Wilson include the school's first-ever dual All-CSAC First Teamers – Lindsey Purvis and Kai Wyatt. Purvis and Wyatt each surpassed 1,000 career points, while Wyatt led the CSAC in three-point percentage and ranked second in scoring.
Before Wilson, Allen spent eight seasons as the head men's basketball coach at SUNY Cobleskill. During his tenure, Allen guided the Fighting Tigers to the 2014-15 NEAC Championship, marking the first conference title and NCAA Division III National Tournament appearance in school history. Allen recruited and coached Alexis Nunez, the school's all-time leader in career points, career games played, career steals, career minutes played, career field goals and career free-throws.
Prior to SUNY Cobleskill, Allen served as the associate head coach at Lehigh University in the 2007-08 season. He helped the Mountain Hawks to a third-place regular season finish in the Patriot League Standings and assisted in the recruitment of C.J. McCollum, the 10th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft who has scored more than 11,000 points in the NBA.
Before Lehigh, Allen worked three seasons as the associate head men's basketball coach at his alma mater, Wofford. He helped the Terriers to major wins over Auburn and Cincinnati and coached four All-Southern Conference players. As a player at Wofford, Allen surpassed 1,000 career points and helped the program to its first and only NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance before the school later transitioned to NCAA Division I.
Allen also has a combined seven years of coaching experience as an assistant men's basketball coach spanning Western Carolina, Dartmouth, Campbell and Wingate. He has also worked as a director of multicultural student affairs, athletic complex supervisor, intramural and sport camp director, and student-athlete orientation coordinator.
At Shippensburg, Allen works in the Learning Center with the Continuing Academic Progress and Success program. Allen supports student success, retention and progression to graduation through personalized support, and also serves as a student advocate who refers and connects students with relevant campus resources.
A native of Concord, North Carolina, Allen graduated from Wofford in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy and Philosophy. He earned his master's degree at Shippensburg in Organizational Development and Leadership with a concentration in higher education and policy in May 2023.
