Baylor safety Michael Allen has been nominated for the 2026 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, a recognition that puts his work in the Waco community and in the classroom front and center.
Allen is one of 162 college football student-athletes chosen for the honor, which is built around community service, academic achievement and leadership. The Good Works Team dates back to 1992 and has been presented by Allstate since 2008, with the award spotlighting players who use their platform to help others and support causes that matter to them.
Allen’s impact away from the field has been substantial. He has logged more than 100 hours of community service in Waco, with work that has included helping prepare school lunches, building homes for underserved areas of the city, organizing toy drives and reading to elementary school students.
His biggest role in that space has come as Baylor’s chapter leader for Uplifting Athletes, the national nonprofit that raises money and awareness for people affected by rare diseases. Over the past four years, Allen has led fundraising efforts that brought in more than $10,000 for rare disease research by bringing together teammates, campus partners and community members.
On the field, Allen has appeared in 28 career games and has mostly worked as the team’s lead blocker on kickoff returns. He has three career kick returns for 57 yards, including a long of 26 yards at SMU last season. After breaking his arm on a first-quarter kick return at Oklahoma State, Allen stayed in the game and finished playing through the pain before missing the next three weeks while recovering.
Allen has also stacked up the kind of academic record that fits the award. He carries a perfect 4.0 GPA while pursuing a master’s in business administration, and he graduated from Baylor with a finance and management degree and a 3.96 GPA.
The 2026 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team will be announced in September and will include 22 student-athletes and one honorary head coach. One player will also be chosen as team captain and receive the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy.
A selection panel made up of former Good Works Team members, college football coaches, journalists and other award-connected leaders reviews the nominations and weighs community service, leadership, academics and the impact each candidate has made. The final team will include 11 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision players, 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and NAIA ranks, and one honorary head coach.
Baylor opens the 2026 season in the Aflac Kickoff Game against Auburn at 2:30 p.m. CT on September 5 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with ABC carrying the national broadcast. The Bears then return to Waco on September 12 to begin a three-game homestand at McLane Stadium against Prairie View A&M, followed by Louisiana Tech and Colorado on September 26 to open conference play.
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