Allen Greene, an 18-year industry veteran, is known as a dynamic, energetic and student-athlete focused leader. Greene is in his fourth year at Auburn after being named the program’s 15th director of athletics on Jan. 18, 2018. He served in the same capacity at the University at Buffalo from November 2015 until his arrival at Auburn.

A leader in the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics, Greene’s national perspective and well-rounded experiences place him in high regard among his peers. He is currently serving on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), 1st Vice Chair for LEAD1 and is the Co-Chair of the Black AD Alliance.

As someone who is passionate about serving the holistic person, Allen’s motto of “care more about the success of others than your own” has led to Auburn’s success on and off the fields and courts of play.

Under Allen’s leadership, Auburn has had 35 programs finish ranked in the top 25 nationally, including 12 programs in the top 10. The Auburn equestrian program has won a pair of national championships since his arrival and the men’s and women’s golf programs each advanced to the national semifinals. In 2019 the men’s basketball program made its first-ever trip to the Final Four, while the baseball program returned to the College World Series for the first time in 22 years.

Auburn student-athletes are excelling academically under Allen’s leadership. The cumulative grade-point average for all Auburn Athletics teams has risen from 3.19 to 3.25 during his tenure, with nearly 70 percent of student-athletes earning 3.0 or higher GPAs during the 2020-21 academic year. Eleven teams earned perfect 1,000 Academic Progress Rates in 2020-21 with seven programs earning multi-year APRs of 1,000. In 2020-21, 244 Auburn student-athletes earned recognition on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. 

During Allen’s time at Auburn, 376 athletes have earned their degrees and 771 have been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Motivated to educate, support and develop student-athletes at every moment, Allen works with Auburn’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to foster community service and a spirit of unity.

During his time at Auburn, student-athletes, coaches and staff have volunteered to clean up and rebuild local communities affected by tornados. Auburn’s SAAC launched a voter education initiative. Allen spearheaded Auburn’s Together We Will initiative in the fall of 2020 to represent the oneness Auburn Athletics seeks to instill in its teams and community while supporting efforts to create a diverse student body.

Allen’s fundraising acumen has been on full display during his tenure at Auburn, highlighted by numerous capital projects totaling $165 million, including the approval and construction of the $92 million Football Performance Center due for completion in 2022. This transformational facility is the largest capital project in Auburn Athletics history. The fundraising efforts toward the Football Performance Center have included two of the three largest philanthropic gifts ever to the athletics department. 

Auburn Athletics has experienced a transformation during Allen’s three and a   half years on the Plains. He has hired six coaches, including newly minted football coach Bryan Harsin, and has renegotiated the contracts of seven successful Auburn coaches.

Allen has taken a leadership role in social justice issues, both on campus and industry wide. With a unique ability to respectfully address differences, Allen is guided by his philosophy as an educator, and believes it’s important for student-athletes to develop their “North Star” relative to their education, position and participation in social justice matters.

In 2020, Allen commissioned a 20-member departmental Inclusion and Race Relations Task Force that included staff members, coaches, student-athletes and external stakeholders. Allen oversaw the implementation of the task force’s recommendations. While working on social justice issues within intercollegiate athletics as a member of NACDA’s inclusion and diversity task force and co-chair of the Black AD Alliance, Allen focuses on helping student-athletes understand the advantages and disadvantages of their engagement around social issues.

Allen’s tenure as director of athletics at the University at Buffalo is noted for success on the field and in the classroom, as well as donor and corporate development efforts that led to an array of facility enhancements.

Competitively, UB Athletics sent four teams to the NCAA tournament in a two-year span including men’s and women’s basketball in 2016, the first time a men’s and women’s MAC school won both titles since 2002.
     
In the classroom, UB sports teams achieved a GPA of 3.00 or better for 11 consecutive semesters, with football earning its highest team GPA in the program’s Division I history.
     
Allen was instrumental in building donor and corporate support for UB athletics, including arranging an apparel partnership with Nike. He also spearheaded development of the UB athletics facilities master plan and led several capital projects, including the approval of an $18 million, 92,000 square-foot indoor practice facility that had been on the docket for nearly two decades.
     
Prior to being named director of athletics at the University at Buffalo, Allen served as the senior associate athletic director for administration and deputy director of athletics at UB. As deputy director of athletics, Allen oversaw the day-to-day operations of the athletic department and was in charge of UB’s football and men’s and women’s basketball programs.
     
Allen also has previous experience working in the Southeastern Conference, having led several key business development and fundraising functions during his three years at the University of Mississippi. Prior to joining Ole Miss, Allen spent two years working as an athletics fundraiser for Notre Dame and five years in its compliance office.
     
A graduate of Notre Dame with a degree in finance, Allen was a three-year starter for the Fighting Irish baseball team. He was selected in the ninth round of the 1998 MLB draft by the New York Yankees and played three years in its minor league system. He later earned his master’s degree from Indiana University’s South Bend campus.
     
Allen and his wife, Christy, have three children, daughters Rian and Seneca, and son Samuel.