December 17, 1999

DOUG ALLISON NAMED NSCAA SOUTH REGION COACH-OF-THE-YEAR AND A FINALIST FOR NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR

GREENVILLE, SC -- Furman men¹s soccer coach Doug Allison was named National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) South Region Coach-of-the-Year on Friday after guiding the Paladins to a 21-2-1 record and a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Allison is now one of eight finalists for the NSCAA national coach-of-the-year award.

Furman finished the season ranked third in the final Soccer America poll and fifth in the NSCAA listing.

Allison is in his fifth season at the helm of the Paladin soccer program. In five seasons, Allison has tallied a 78-21-7 record as he is second among active Division I head coaches in winnig percentage behind Indiana¹s Jerry Yeagley.

Allison¹s 1999 squad was the most successful soccer team in Furman history and one of the most successful athletic teams in Furman history. Furman also finished the season in the nation¹s top twenty in scoring (14th), team defense (13th), and winning percentage (2nd). The Paladins finished with a perfect 8-0 Southern Conference mark and won the Southern Conference tournament championship.

The award is Allison¹s first regional coach-of-the-year citation, though he has been the Southern Conference¹s coach-of-the-year three of the last five seasons.

Allison becomes the third Furman coach to win regional coach-of-the-year honors as women¹s soccer coach Brian Lee is the NSCAA Southeast Region coach-of-the-year and football coach Bobby Johnson is the GTE Region II Coach-of-the-Year. All three are finalists for the national coach of the year award.

The other seven finalists for the national coach-of-the-year are Ray Reid, UConn (New England Region), Dean Foti, Syracuse (New York Region), Pete Caringi, UMBC (South Atlantic Region), Barry Gorman, Penn State (Middle Atlantic Region), Ian Collins, Kentucky (Great Lakes Region), Jon Leamy, SW Missouri State (Midwest Region), and Todd Saldana, UCLA (Far West Region).