Sonny Allen (March 8, 1936 – September 11, 2020) was an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach. He was the head coach at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

from 1965 to 1975; leading the Monarchs to six NCAA College/Division II Tournaments, winning in 1975, finishing runner-up in 1971 and finishing fourth in 1976. He then accepted the

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

job, spending the 1975–76 through 1979–80 seasons in Dallas, he then moved to the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

from 1980 to 1987. He was later the head coach for the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Aren ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) from 1999 to 2001. He died of Parkinson's Disease in Reno, Nevada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Sonny 1936 births 2020 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from West Virginia Basketball players from West Virginia College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Continental Basketball Association coaches Dallas Mavericks assistant coaches Deaths from Parkinson's disease in the United States Neurological disease deaths in Nevada Detroit Shock coaches Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball coaches Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball players Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball coaches Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Moundsville, West Virginia Point guards Sacramento Monarchs coaches SMU Mustangs men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen