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After winning 187 games and leading his teams to eight conference championships and one divisional titles, Dennis Franchione returns to Texas State as the head football coach in 2011.
Franchione begins his 26th season as a collegiate head coach with a 187-101-2 career record, including a 13-9 mark at Texas State in 1990-91.
His head coaching career began at Southwestern in 1981, when he compiled a 14-4-2 record in two seasons. In 1982, his team won nine games, a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and a victory in the Sunflower Bowl. The nine wins tied a school record for most wins in a season and were the most at Southwestern since 1967.
Following the record-setting season, Franchione was named head coach at his alma mater, Pittsburg State. During the next five seasons, he led the Gorillas to a 53-6 record and five Central States Intercollegiate Conference championships with a combined record of 37-1. He was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year twice. His teams tied the school record for victories in a season three times before breaking it with a 12-win campaign in 1989.
The following year, Franchione served as the head coach at Texas State (formerly Southwest Texas State) in 1990-91 and led the Bobcats to two straight winning seasons, a feat that was not duplicated until 2008-09. He compiled a 13-9 record at Texas State before taking his first FBS job at New Mexico in 1992. He led the Lobos to a 33-36 overall record, including a 9-4 mark in 1997 when New Mexico won the WAC’s Mountain Division championship and earned an invitation to play in the Insight.com Bowl, the school’s first bowl game since 1961. During the 1996 and 1997 seasons, one of his players was NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher.
Franchione was named head coach at TCU in 1998 and quickly turned around the fortunes of the school’s football program. After the Horned Frogs finished the previous season with a 1-10 record, Franchione led them to a 7-5 mark and a victory over USC in the Sun Bowl in his first year. He also led TCU to a bowl game in 1999 before the Horned Frogs finished the 2000 season with a 10-1 record, a WAC co-championship and a berth to the Mobile Alabama Bowl. His offense featured Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman finalist LaDainian Tomlinson at running back.
Franchione’s next stop as head coach was at Alabama, where he led the Crimson Tide to a 7-5 record in 2001 after the Tide had posted a 3-8 record the prior season. The team also won the Independence Bowl that season, which was Alabama’s first bowl victory in five years. In 2002, he led the Crimson Tide to a 10-3 mark and a SEC West Division championship with a 6-2 league record. Following Alabama’s victory over Hawaii that season, Franchione was named head coach at Texas A&M.
During the next five seasons, his Aggies posted three winning records and played in three bowl games. Texas A&M finished the 2004 season with a 7-5 mark and played in the Cotton Bowl, the first bowl game in which the Aggies had played in three seasons. His best season at the school came in 2006 when the Aggies won nine games and played in the Holiday Bowl. The next year, Texas A&M posted a 7-5 record and qualified to play in the Alamo Bowl. However, Franchione resigned as head coach prior to the bowl game and ended his tenure at the school with a 32-28 record. His recruiting classes were ranked among the Top 13 nationally from 2003-05.
Born March 28, 1951 in Girard, Kan., Franchione resides in Horseshoe Bay, Texas and was an analyst for ESPN Radio broadcasts in 2008 and 2009. He is married to the former Kim Kraus, and they have two daughters Ashley and Libby. He also has a son, Brad. Brad and his wife, Rebecca, have three children.
HEAD COACH at a Glance
Birth Date: March 28, 1951
Birthplace: Girard, Kan.
Alma Mater: Pittsburg State, 1973
Family: wife- Kim; children- Elizabeth, Ashley and Brad
EDUCATION
Pittsburg State University
HONORS AS A COACH
1986 NAIA Coach of the Year
1987 NAIA Coach of the Year
1989 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year
1990 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year
COACHING EXPERIENCE
1973-74: head coach at Miller High School; Miller, Mo.
1975: assistant coach at Mulvane High School; Mulvane, Kan.
1976-77; head coach at Peabody-Burns High School; Peabody, Kan.
1978-80: assistant coach, Kansas State
1981-82: head coach, Southwestern College
1983-84: offensive coordinator, Tennessee Tech
1985-89: head coach, Pittsburg State
1990-91: head coach, Texas State
1992-97: head coach, New Mexico
1998-00: head coach, TCU
2000-02: head coach, Alabama
2003-07: head coach, Texas A&M
2011-present: head coach, Texas State
WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE TABLE
• Owns a career record of 187-101-2
• Guided his teams to 10 conference championships
• Led his teams to nine bowl games
• His recruiting classes were ranked among Top 13 nationally in 2003-05.
