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

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach. He was the head coach at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

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 , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

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 land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

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

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a 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 Arena. The Mona ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(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 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 People from Moundsville, West Virginia Point guards Sacramento Monarchs coaches SMU Mustangs men's basketball coaches