Allen Returns as Assoc. AD for External Operations

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Director of Athletics Keith Baxter has announced the addition of Blake Allen to the Southeastern Athletic Department.
 
He returns to the Savage Storm family as Associate A.D. for External Operations and will handle marketing and development within the department as well as game environment.
 
"I'm excited to return to Southeastern in this role," said Allen, "And would like to thank Keith Baxter and the committee for this opportunity. This university is a very special place to me and my family and we are thrilled to be rejoining the Savage Storm family. I look forward to working alongside our staff and coaches to provide the best possible experience for our student-athletes."
 
Allen comes to Southeastern most recently after a stop at East Central University where he served as the Director of Communications and Marketing.
 
Prior to moving to ECU, He would make a brief return to SE, serving as the Director of Marketing in the office of University Communications.
 
From 2021-22 he worked in marketing with the Choctaw National of Oklahoma, leaving the Nation as a Senior Marketing Manager in 2022.
 
Allen ended his first stint at Southeastern serving as the University Marketing Manager from 2019-2021, moving into that position after holding the position of Associate Athletic Director for External Operations from 2015-19. During that first stint in the position he was responsible for event management, corporate relations, special events, marketing, promotions, social media, and the coordination of community engagement efforts for the athletic programs.
 
Allen was promoted to Assistant A.D. for Marketing and Promotions in 2015 after serving as assistant director of external operations from 2013-2015 and worked directly with marketing, promotions, and game operations.
 
Before returning to his alma mater in 2013, he served as a graduate assistant to the athletic director at East Central University where he was involved in the daily operations of the department focusing on marketing, business operations, and game operations.
 
Allen got his start in the athletic world as a student worker at Southeastern from 2006-07 and from 2008-2010 when he was a student worker in various capacities including sports information and external operations. 
 
He would put together a handful of other experiences in his educational run, including serving as a student assistant for the men's basketball program, a marketing and sales internship with the then Oklahoma City Redhawks in 2009, and serving as a basketball manager for the Oklahoma State women's basketball team in 2007.
 
Allen has worked at several Great American Conference post-season events including event presentation and promotions for the GAC Basketball Championships from 2016 through 2019.
 
He was 1 of 30 and only 1 of 7 NCAA Division II recipients of the 2015 Mike Cleary Stipend Program which allowed him to attend the NACMA Convention in Orlando, FL.
 
A native of Durant, Okla., Allen graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2011 with a B.A. in Communications and received a M.Ed. in Sports Administration from East Central University in July of 2013. Blake, and his wife Melissa, have two sons named James and Hudson.