College Sports Information Directors of America

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Paul Allan – Minnesota State University, Mankato, Senior Deputy Director for External Operations (retired)

CSC Lifetime Achievement Award

By Doug Vance – retired CSC Executive Director // Special Awards Committee member

It was pure happenstance, but Paul Allan could never have envisioned the satisfying work/life journey ahead in the fall of 1985 after arriving on the campus of Mankato State (now Minnesota State) at age 25 to serve as its sports information director.

In taking a full measure of the experience since that time, his decision to join the Maverick athletics department served as a catalyst that ultimately triggered three lasting love affairs:

• With the school and its athletic department:
• With a demanding job that impacted each day of his life:
• And, within just a few months of crossing the threshold of his new office, meeting the love of his life (Lori) and together building a family.

Those meaningful opportunities would serve as endearment events that reshaped the direction of his life and leave him with a cascade of unforgettable memories.
 

“It’s hard to fathom that I was able to stay at one place for as long as I did,” said Allan, who retired in December after 37 years at MSU with the title of senior deputy athletic director for external operations. “It certainly wasn’t intentional. But what I found out was that Mankato is a great place to build a life, have a career and raise a family.”

"Most importantly, I met my wife, Lori, and we've built a life together that includes our three sons (Seth, Sean and Jack) and their significant others and a couple of unbelievably beautiful grandkids," added Allan. "It's been a wonderful journey." 

Allan, whose tenure at Minnesota State was longer than any current serving athletic communications official at Minnesota college or university, will be honored at the 2023 CSC Convention in June with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

In announcing his retirement, Minnesota State athletics director Kevin Buisman lauded the legacy of Allan.

"Paul Allan's retirement marks a historical milestone in the timeline of Maverick Athletics," said Buisman. "His contributions over a highly decorated 37-year career are immeasurable, and his impact on the program has been profound. He will be greatly missed.”
 
Allan’s impressive stability at Minnesota State, however, would have been difficult to predict as his career first unfolded. Before arriving in Mankato, his travels were launched in Canada and included stops in Texas and Arizona before he found a home in Minnesota.

Allan is a native of Calgary in Alberta, Canada where his sports interests as a youth, like many Canadians, focused on hockey. He was in his last days as a goaltender on the Mount Royal University hockey team when one of his brothers, who had played professional hockey in Amarillo, suggested he consider transferring to West Texas State (now West Texas A&M) in Canyon.

“So off I went,” said Allan. “I had a great experience there, graduated and then headed to Northern Arizona for a graduate assistantship in the sports information office with Wyle Smith. I hadn’t worked in sports information before and Wylie was an unbelievable mentor.”

“He was patient with his young inexperienced staff, he was committed to his craft, the people he worked with and to the school. He helped me get the job in Mankato, where I can still hardly believe they let me do what I did for as long as I did.”

While overseeing MSU athletic communications, the Mavericks captured four national team championships. He also directed communications for MSU’s highly successful hockey team which advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four during his final two years on the job.

Allan served as a press officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee at two U.S. Olympic Festivals, one Winter World University Games and one Winter Olympic Games (1992 in Albertville, France). He also volunteered as the Venue Press Chief for hockey at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Shane Drahota, senior deputy director/administration and student services at Minnesota State first met Allan as a junior at MSU when he was hired to work as a student assistant in the sports information office. Drahota would later become a graduate assistant in the office and would eventually be his first full-time assistant SID hire.

“The impact he had on all of the people that worked with him, and as well as the field of sports communications is tremendous,” noted Drahota. “He’s a giant in this industry, and while I am seriously saddened that I no longer get to work with him daily, I know how fortunate I was to cross paths with him. He’s simply the best.”

Allan’s been recognized with a variety honors during his career. He’s a recipient of the Warren Berg Award — given annually to a CSC college division member who has made outstanding contributions to the field of college sports information — and was inducted into the CoSIDA/CSC Hall of Fame in 2009.

Allan has witnessed numerous changes in technology that have altered the blueprint of how to effectively handle athletic communications in college sports.

“Every profession has been affected with the changes in technology. But for us the changes have been truly profound. The game-changers really came with the emergence of computers, websites, social media, live statistics, and video. SIDs still had to be mindful of working with traditional media, but delivering content that you could control was a tipping point in the profession,” Allan said.

In reality, this retirement was quite short-lived. Allan has embarked on a new chapter of his life as he accepted the job of director of communications for the United States Hockey League.

“I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to work at MSU forever,” said Allan. “It took a few months for the opportunity at the USHL to come together. The combination of the work and the fact it involved hockey seemed like that could be a nice off ramp for me.”

“I’m working from home and there’s some travel involved, so it has been a good transition,” Allan concluded. “That being said, Lori and I have two beautiful grandkids and another one the way and we’re looking forward to spending time with them and their parents.”