Dennis Franchione, the longtime college football coach whose career stretched from NAIA Southwestern to Alabama and included stops at New Mexico, TCU and Texas A&M, died Tuesday. TCU confirmed the news on social media. He was 75.
Franchione built one of the more memorable coaching resumes of the 21st century, piling up more than 200 victories and eight conference championships along the way. He also made eight bowl appearances at the FBS level and spent time at multiple schools, including two separate tenures at Texas State.
His rise started well before the major-conference stage. The Kansas native won five straight conference titles at Pittsburg State at the sub-FBS level before arriving at TCU in 1998. There, with LaDainian Tomlinson running the ball and Gary Patterson coordinating the defense, he helped turn a 1-11 team into one that posted three straight winning seasons.
That success carried him to Alabama, where he inherited a program in a difficult stretch. Franchione quickly delivered a 10-win season and an Independence Bowl victory.
Alabama reportedly offered him a 10-year contract to remain, but with NCAA sanctions looming for violations under former coach Mike DuBose, he made the move that shocked the college football world and left for Texas A&M to replace R.C. Slocum.
Things never fully settled in College Station. Franchione’s tenure with the Aggies reached a low point with a 77-0 loss to Oklahoma in 2003, and the pressure kept building as Texas was competing for national championships.
His position became even more precarious after it was revealed that he had been privately selling a newsletter to top donors that included inside information about the team. He was fired after the 2007 season.
Franchione returned to Texas State in 2011 for his second stint with the program, this time to help guide its transition to the FBS level. In 2014, he led the team to a 7-5 record, though it was not selected for a bowl game.
According to the Star-Telegram, Franchione was diagnosed with cancer a decade ago. The cancer returned this year, and he was moved to hospice care in Austin.
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