Joe Allison played high school football at American High School in Miami, Fla. He was quarterback, punter and place kicker and was named All-Dade County punter his senior year. He was recruited and signed a scholarship as a place kicker at Memphis State University.
Redshirted in 1989, Allison became the starting place kicker for the Tigers the next four years. In his junior season in 1992, Allison became the inaugural winner of the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top placekicker. He led the NCAA that year in making 23 of 25 field goals and 32 of 32 extra points; becoming the first kicker in Memphis history to score 100 points. Allison was named All-America in 1992 by the Associated Press; becoming the first Memphis State player to receive AP honors in the school’s history. In his four years from 1990-93, Allison made 51 of 71 field goals and scored a total of 262 points. He was inducted into the “M Club” Hall of Fame in 1999.
After his career at Memphis, Allison signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent for the 1994 season. In 1995 he signed a deal to play for the Memphis Maddogs in the CFL.
Life after football meant a few different jobs until he moved back to Atlanta where he started his own lawn care business in 1997. In 2006 Allison sold his business and pursued a teaching career.
Allison became a special education teacher at North Forsyth High School from 2007–2012, and Milton High School in Fulton County for 2012-2015. In 2015 he moved the family to Sanford, N.C. to teach and coach with longtime friend Don Simon. In 2017 the family moved to St. Cloud, Fla. and Harmony High School. Allison has been an assistant football coach each year, running the special teams as well as coaching quarterbacks and running backs. He has also coached the baseball team and boys’ golf team.
Joe has been married to his wife Amy since the summer of 1992. They have three boys, Cole 24, Lane 21, and Reece 16. Cole is working on his teaching degree for secondary math, Lane now lives in Oklahoma working to become a licensed electrician, and Reece will be in 11th grade this fall at Harmony High School.