The University of Alabama in Huntsville Department of Athletics has announced the hiring of veteran collegiate coach Allen Sharpe to be the leader of the UAH women’s basketball program.
“It is a great day for Charger Basketball, and we are thrilled to welcome Coach Sharpe as the next leader of our women’s basketball program,” said UAH Director of Athletics Dr. Cade Smith. “Coach Sharpe quickly emerged as someone who has a great passion for the game and young people. He has been a proven winner in all of his previous stops and I am excited to welcome him and the rest of his family to UAH.”
Sharpe becomes the 13th head coach in UAH women’s basketball program history after leading both the Wallace State men’s and women’s teams most recently in 2023-24.
“Thank you to UAH President Dr. Chuck Karr and Dr. Smith for giving my family this opportunity,” Sharpe said. “This is a position that I had my eye on for quite some time and a responsibility that I will not take lightly. Our family loves Wallace State and Dr. Vicki Karolweics, hiring me not once but twice and our family will be forever grateful.”
“The time is now for UAH women’s basketball to thrive in the Gulf South Conference and the South Region. Go Chargers.”
His teams at Wallace State combined for three All-ACCC honorees this season, as the men’s team won the ACCC Division I tournament and the women’s squad were runners-up. His men’s squad also made it to the second round of the 2024 NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
In a career that spans 22 years, Sharpe owns a record of 496-210 following a 25-6 record with Wallace State’s women’s squad this season to go along with a 26-9 mark on the men’s side.
Prior to returning to Wallace State in 2020 where he was previously head coach from 2005-10, Sharpe led NCAA Division II men’s programs Arkansas-Monticello from 2010-14 and West Alabama from 2014-20 with a career record of 178-114 between the two stints.
He achieved 20 or more wins in four seasons at the Division II level, while reaching the NCAA tournament twice with West Alabama. At UAM, Sharpe was the first-ever coach to achieve four consecutive winning seasons in program history.
Overall, Sharpe has guided his teams to 13 seasons with 20 wins or more.
He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Piedmont College, following a collegiate playing career at Lipscomb under legendary head coach Don Meyer from 1995-2000. Sharpe scored 1,431 career points for one of the most successful basketball programs in the nation during the 1990s.
Sharpe and his wife, Susan, who also played basketball at Lipscomb, are the parents of three children – Garrison, Ally and Anderson.
A welcome ceremony with coach Sharpe for the public and media will be announced soon.
