University of North Carolina Athletics
Track & Field
- Title:
- Meet Director
2009 marks the fifth year Andrew Allden will serve as meet director and coordinator of alumni relations for Carolina track and field. However, Allden is no newcomer to the program. He previously spent five years as the cross country and distance coach during his first stint at UNC (1989-94).
Most recently, Allden spent three years as the head men's track coach at Coastal Carolina University. In 2003, he was named Southeast Regional and Big South Coach of the Year for leading the team to its first-ever Big South Conference title. Allden coached the school's first-ever NCAA Championship qualifiers in both track and cross country.
From 1996-2001 Allden was the cross country and distance coach at the University of South Carolina. During his time there, the women's program recorded two indoor NCAA runner-up finishes (2000 and 2001) and placed in the top 10 in the outdoor championship five consecutive years. The team also won its first SEC title in 2000.
From 1994-1996 Allden served as men's and women's cross country coach, recruiting coordinator and interim head track coach at Tulane University. While Allden served as interim head coach in 1995, the team set nine school records, had seven conference champions, 19 all-conference honors and one NCAA Top 10 finisher. Allden was named Louisiana Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1995.
Allden was the men's distance coach for the U.S. men's track and field team at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary in 2004. He has served as both president (2001-2003) and vice president (1997-2001) of the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association. He also served on the U.S. Track Coaches Association Executive Committee from 2001-2003. Allden currently serves as men's long distance running chairman for NC USATF and elite athlete coordinator for the OBX (Outer Banks) marathon.
In addition, Allden directs North Carolina's largest USATF Level I Coaching Certification School held annually at UNC Allden is a 1986 graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and history. He also has a master's in sport administration from the University of Georgia (1991).
The Allden family consists of Andrew, his wife Tara and their daughter Kathleen Rose. They currently reside in Pittsboro, N.C.
