Don Allen, a broadcaster for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns for four decades, passed away Wednesday at the age of 76.
A native of Oklahoma, Allen worked with the original Voice of the Cajuns, Ron Gomez, before taking over when Gomez ran for public office. Allen served as the main play-by-play voice until 2001.
“Don Allen witnessed and reported years of Ragin’ Cajuns athletic successes and challenges,” said University President Dr. E. Joseph Savoie. “He was always passionate, yet clear-eyed. In short, he was a professional. Don had an engaging and authoritative voice and fans relied on his analysis and opinions. But most of all, he was a good guy and fun to be around.”
Allen witnessed some of the greatest moments in Louisiana Athletics history, including Cajuns basketball being ranked in the Top 20 during the 1970s, the 1981-82 Great Alaskan Shootout Championship, and the 1996 upset of nationally-ranked Texas A&M at Cajun Field.
“Most knew Don from his years of play-by-play for Cajuns athletics and he had immense play-by-play talents,” said Dan McDonald, a recent inductee to the Louisiana Athletics Hall of Fame. “But he was far from being just a sports announcer. He was so intelligent and so well-read that he could speak knowledgably on a huge variety of subjects outside of sports, as his daily radio shows on KPEL proved. He never hesitated to speak his mind about subjects he was passionate about, and those of us who were close to him always admired that passion.”
Allen also wrote a regular column “Out of Bounds” for the Times of Acadiana, and “He Said, She Said” with his longtime partner, the late Patricia Gannon.
“I think every long time Cajuns fan is hurting today,” said Jay Walker, who worked side by side with Don before assuming lead broadcasting duties. “Don was there for so many memorable moments in Cajuns history. He was articulate, passionate and, perhaps most importantly, always accurate. I was a fan of his for many years before we started working together and, in the ten years we spent as a broadcast team, I learned so much from him. He had so much wisdom and his willingness to share it is something I’ll always be grateful for.”
A celebration of life will be held in Lafayette after the Christmas holidays. Don is survived by his sons Sean and Chris, daughter Shannon, and his grandchildren.