Former Kansas coach to lead Missouri State

~ Terry Allen has already won seven Gateway Conference titles at Northern Iowa.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Former Kansas coach Terry Allen was chosen Tuesday to resurrect the Missouri State University football program.

Allen, currently associate head coach at Iowa State, will replace Randy Ball, who was fired in November. Before going to Kansas in 1996, Allen was a big winner at Northern Iowa, which is in the Gateway Conference along with Missouri State.

The Missouri State Board of Governors met Tuesday morning in special session to approve Allen's hiring.

Allen, 48, who has won seven Gateway Conference championships, had been considered the favorite for the job since first interviewing Thursday.

Also interviewed for the job were DeAndre Smith, a former Missouri State quarterback who is an assistant coach at Miami of Ohio, and Missouri assistant Andy Hill.

Allen's Northern Iowa teams were 75-26 from 1989 to 1996. Success did not follow him to Kansas, where he was 20-33 before he was fired before the end of the 2001 season. Allen has been associate head coach at Iowa State since the 2002 season. He also coaches the tight ends.

Ball and all his assistant coaches were fired after finishing 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the Gateway this season. Ball was 34-42 record in seven years at Missouri State.