 Allen died due to the cancer in December 1996.Head coach Houston Nutt made the step up to NCAA Division I-A the next year when Boise State hired him away from Murray State to take over the program.Two years after making the Division I-AA finals in 1994, Boise State's first year in Division I-A had been difficult and was looking for a recruiter and motivator to jump start their program following Allen's death.