Courtesy of Saginaw Valley State's Sports Information Department
UNIVERSITY CENTER -- Saginaw Valley State University Director of Athletics John Decker has announced the hiring of Daniel Allen as the new head coach of the Cardinal Men's & Women's Golf programs. Daniel comes to Saginaw Valley after previously serving as Head Men's Golf Coach at the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
"Coach Allen's diverse background will be an asset for our women's and men's golf programs," said Decker. "He has competed as a student-athlete and coached at the NCAA level, enjoying success in both roles. Danny's golfing ability is well-documented, as he has played in the U.S. Amateur Championship and also at the professional level. These experiences will serve him well as he recruits new talent to SVSU. In the classroom, Coach Allen's student-athletes have performed admirably, and we are confident that he will carry on the tradition of academic excellence that Joe Vogl established for our golf program.
Lastly, Danny has had exposure to golfing experts at the highest levels of both the professional tour and in the instructional arena. Moving forward, SVSU Golf will place a strong emphasis on player development and we believe that Coach Allen's demonstrated abilities provide him with a unique opportunity to motivate each of our golf team members in attaining their highest potential."
At USCB, Daniel led the Sand Sharks to a Top-5 NAIA National Ranking in each of his four seasons, winning back-to-back Sun Conference Championships in 2018 and 2019.
USCB advanced to the NAIA National Championship in each of Daniel's four seasons. The teams won eight team titles including two in NCAA Division I events, seven team runner-up finishes and thirty three top-5 team finishes. Daniel mentored seven different players that earned NAIA All-American accolades, eight different players earned All Sun Conference, and nine players were NAIA All-Scholar honorees.
"I am extremely grateful to John Decker and the entire search committee for this wonderful opportunity and for welcoming me into the SVSU family," added Allen. "I was incredibly impressed throughout the interview process with everything the University has to offer. I cannot wait to get started as the next golf coach at SVSU. I look forward to helping the student-athletes achieve their goals and dreams while taking the program forward and expanding on the tradition of excellence that the SVSU golf program has established."
Before arriving to USCB, Daniel was the Head Men's and Women's Head Coach at Coker University. While at Coker, Daniel led the men's team to a top 25 NCAA Division II ranking and the women's team to their best finish in program history; a runner-up finish at the South Atlantic Conference Championship.
The men's team at Coker had three different players earn All-Conference accolades with four Academic All-Conference honorees. The women's team had two different players earn All-Conference, three All-American Scholars, and eleven Academic All-Conference honorees.
Daniel served as the Men's Assistant Golf Coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and 2013. The Quakers won five team titles, the 2012 IVY League Championship and competed at NCAA Division I Regionals. Daniel mentored four All-IVY League selections, two Ping Region selections, and two All-American Scholar selections.
Daniel earned his masters degree while serving as the men's graduate assistant coach at California University of Pennsylvania. Daniel assisted the team to qualify for NCAA division II Regionals.
Daniel played collegiate golf at Eckerd College where he earned his bachelor's degree in business and competed in NCAA Regionals in 2006. Daniel also qualified for the 2006 US Amateur at Hazeltine Golf Club.
Daniel competed professionally after college on the Swing Thought Tour, New England Tour and West Florida Tour. Daniel also caddied for former PGA TOUR winner and top 30 player in the world Mark Hensby on the Web.com tour and caddied for Penn graduate Max Marsico who earned status on the Korn Ferry Tour.
