Indiana coach helping to build weight room at dad's school

FRANKLIN, Ind. (AP) — Indiana football coach Tom Allen is donating money to build a weight room at a small college where his father played the sport.

The Tom Allen Weight Room will be part of the Johnson Memorial Health Athletic Annex at Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana.

Allen's father, who has the same name, played football at Franklin in the late 1950s. He persuaded coach Stewart “Red” Faught to add weight training equipment, which turned out to be a bale of hay and concrete blocks, the school said.

“This gift to Franklin College presented our family an opportunity to give back to an Indiana community, while at the same time honoring dad in a way that reflects his passion for instilling in us the value of hard work,” Tom and Tracy Allen said.

Nearly 44% of Franklin students participate in sports. The current weight room was booked for team training nearly every day of the week last year.