Allan Johnson Hired as Ohio State Football Strength Coach – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 7, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio–Andy Geiger, Ohio State director of athletics, announced Thursday the hiring of Allan Johnson as the director of strength and conditioning for football at Ohio State.
Johnson begins Monday, June 11, following a successful tenure at West Virginia University.
As a Mountaineer, Johnson was named in May as one of 10 collegiate strength and conditioning coaches to receive the title of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach. He was cited by the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCC). This award is the highest honor that can be achieved as a strength and conditioning coach. It represents professionalism, knowledge, experience, expertise and longevity in the field.
Johnson returned to West Virginia for the 1993 season after a stint with the Baltimore Orioles from 1988-92. He was the WVU strength coach from 1982-88.
Jim Tressel, Ohio State head football coach, said he was continuously pointed in Johnson’s direction during the hiring process.
“He cares about the whole person, the student-athlete,” Tressel said. “That impressed me. Every time I turned around people were calling me to recommend him.”
In his most recent stint at West Virginia, Johnson coordinated the conditioning and weight training activities of WVU’s 21 varsity sports for men and women, supervising inseason and offseason workout programs.
Johnson served three years as a high school football coach at Federal Hocking (Ohio) and Parkersburg South (W.Va.) high schools before becoming a graduate assistant strength coach at WVU in 1982. Named the BIG EAST Professional of the Year for 1997, 1998 and 2000 by the National Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, he is a regular clinic speaker at the NSCA annual convention and other regional meetings. In 1988, the NSCA named Johnson the Region III Strength Coach of the Year.
In 1986, Johnson was named to the NSCA Special Olympics Advisory Committee.
His published works have appeared in The American Fitness Quarterly, The Strength and Conditioning Review, National Strength and Conditioning Association Journal and Bigger-Faster-Stronger Magazine.
A former state powerlifting champion, he was a letterman in football and track at West Virginia Tech and Glenville State College. He has a 1979 Bachelor of Science Degree from Glenville State College in physical education (K-12) and safety education. He earned a Master of Science Degree from West Virginia (1983) in sports management/administration. A native of Parkersburg, W.Va., Johnson and his wife Jan have one son, Adam.
