The winningest coach in Kansas basketball history, Allen compiled a record of 590-219 in 39 seasons as the Jayhawk head coach.  All totaled, Allen won 746 games, a record since broken by one of Allen's former players, the legendary Adolph Rupp of Kentucky.

As a student at KU, Allen's coach was "the Father of Basketball,'' Dr. James Naismith. When Allen was first thinking about making a career of coaching he talked with Naismith and was told, "You don't coach basketball, Forrest; you play it." Despite that bit of advice, Allen went ahead with his career and disproved Naismith.  He played basketball, too, earning three letters for the Jayhawks (1905-07), and also earning a spot on the roster of the Kansas City Athletic Club.

Allen began his coaching career in 1907, serving as Kansas' head coach for the 1907-08 and 1908-09 seasons. During that same time period, Allen also coached at Baker University in nearby Baldwin City, and added the coaching position at Haskell Institute in Lawrence in 1908-09.  He dropped out of coaching for four years and returned in 1912 as coach of all sports at Central Missouri State University. In seven years he was head coach at CMSU, his teams won seven championships and their combined record was 102-7.

Allen became Kansas' athletics director in 1919 as well as football and basketball coach. He also was instrumental in the establishment of the Kansas Relays in 1923, but basketball was his passion.  His KU teams won 24 conference championships and one NCAA title in 1952. The 1922 and 1923 teams were awarded the Helms Foundation National Championship. His 1940 and 1953 teams won the NCAA western regional, but lost in the national finals. In addition, he coached 14 All-Americans.

Allen was one of the founders of the National Basketball Coaches Association and served as its first president. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1950, and was a charter member of the Helms Foundation Basketball Hall of Fame. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959.

Allen was the driving force behind the addition of basketball to the Olympic Games in 1936. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, he conducted a personal crusade trying to coax Olympic officials to include the sport. It finally paid off when the game, invented by his coach, Dr. James Naismith, was recognized by the committee in 1936. He served as an assistant coach to the 1952 Olympic team, a combination of KU players and a team from Peoria, Ill.

He was also behind the efforts of the implementation of the NCAA Tournament, played for the first time in 1939.  Allen Fieldhouse, named for him, was first opened March 1, 1955, and is still the home court for KU basketball.  Allen died on September 16, 1974, at the age of 88 and is buried in Lawrence Oak Hill Cemetery.

Phog Kept 'Em Amused With His Predictions:                                                                   Long before Lou Holtz was building up Army and Purdue to be world-beaters, Kansas' Forrest "Phog" Allen had it down to an art. Despite fielding strong teams nearly every year, Allen often said: "I don't see how we can possibly finish any higher than fourth or fifth place (in the conference)." Sportswriters often rolled their eyes at his remarks but actually, Allen was very good at predicting the future. In 1944 he predicted a major college basketball scandal.
"The Foghorn is sounding again," one paper proclaimed. But nobody was laughing at Allen in 1945 when a scandal did erupt and again in 1951 when a larger scandal nearly ruined the game.

How The Nickname "Phog" Came About:
So where did Forrest Allen's nickname, "Phog," originate. He explained the derivation to a reporter for the University of Kansas school paper.  The student referred to Allen as "Fog", a reference to the foghorn voice he used as a baseball umpire. The word lacked tone, the reporter thought, so he dressed it up by spelling it, "Phog."