Courtesy of Allen Athletics
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Allen University President Dr. Ernest McNealey and the University’s constituents are proud to announce the appointment of Phillip Wallace Jr. as the institution’s new director of athletics. Wallace Jr. arrives following a three-decade-long career in collegiate athletics, including serving the last two years as the Associate Athletic Director for Operations at Morehouse College. “We are pleased to have Phillip Wallace Jr. join us,” said President McNealey. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in NCAA Division II athletics and the SIAC, in particular.”
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to join the team at Allen University and for the trust placed in me by President McNealey to lead Allen’s Athletic Department,” said Wallace. “I look forward to working with our administrators, faculty, staff, and student-athletes as we strive for academic and athletic excellence culminating in degrees and championships.”
Wallace Jr. has held positions as a coach and administrator in his career prior to coming to Allen University, helping rebuild programs both on-and-off the court, while also creating legacy models of success at each of the institutions he has served.
Since August 2022, Wallace has served as the Associate Athletic Director for Operations at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. In this role, he was responsible for day-to-day operations, playing a major part in the scheduling of athletic contests, development of budgets, management of events, and the development and implementation of emergency procedures, health and safety protocols, and risk management plans for athletics a Morehouse. Additionally, he helped create recreational programming that met the demands of the community.
Prior to his time at Morehouse, Wallace spent more than a decade at Miles College in Fairfield, A.L. From 2010-18, Wallace served as Director of Athletics at Miles, where he led a renaissance in athletic excellence on the field, in the classroom, and through fundraising. Taking the reins of a department coming off of NCAA-imposed sanctions, he guided 10 sports and more than 200 student-athletes into a golden age of success. Wallace implemented rules education for coaches and staff, as well as rigid enforcement of NCAA compliance. The results showed in the competition as during his tenure the Golden Bears baseball team won its first NCAA Division II SIAC title and earned a trip to the NCAA South Region tournament, the football team won four SIAC championships and made the NCAA Division II playoffs, the men’s basketball team won the 2019 SIAC title, the golf team, which was created during his tenure as athletic director, won the SIAC title and participated in the NCAA Division II regional for the first time in just its third year of existence, and the softball team captured the 2012 SIAC title and made the NCAA South Region tournament.
It was Wallace’s desire to compete and succeed at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics while maintaining a primary focus on the needs and success of the student-athletes. In the classroom, the athletic program had a cumulative grade point average over 3.0 for the final seven years of his term with multiple student-athletes being named to the SIAC All-Academic team. Graduation and retention rates also rose during his watch. Additionally, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) began taking a more active role within the community with several community engagement initiatives while also raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Wallace’s work as an administrator accompanied his track record as a basketball coach. He has more than 400 wins in a coaching career that has included stops at Miles, Morris Brown College, Savannah State University and Andrew College. From 2004-22, Wallace accumulated 210 victories, which are the most in the program’s history, and was named the 2020 SIAC Coach of the Year.
As well as Wallace’s teams played on the court, including having two players named SIAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, his teams were also strong academically. The Lady Bears were three-time winners of the top team academic award in the SIAC. During the 2020-21 season, Miles was No. 24 in the nation in overall grade point average as tabulated by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and included the school’s valedictorian.
Phillip Wallace Jr. is a native of Savannah, Georgia, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Savannah State University in 1989 and his Masters in Public Administration from Savannah State University in 1993. He is a member of the Black Coaches Association (BCA), Women Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and has served on the WBCA Top-25 National Ranking Committee. He and his wife, Sharon, are the proud parents of one daughter, Sha’ron, and two sons, Phillip III and Kendall.