Dennis Franchione, former Alabama, Texas A&M and TCU football coach, dies aged 75
Dennis Franchione, the head coach who led Alabama, Texas A&M, TCU, New Mexico and Texas State over 27 seasons, has died aged 75, his family confirmed on Tuesday.
Dennis Franchione, the college football head coach who led five FBS programmes including Alabama, Texas A&M and TCU over a 27-season career, has died at the age of 75, his family confirmed on Tuesday.
TCU confirmed his passing over social media, while his family told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he died on 6 October. Franchione had been diagnosed with cancer in 2016 and 2021; the Star-Telegram reported the cancer returned earlier this year and that he had recently been placed in hospice care.
Franchione posted a 127-110 record at New Mexico (1992-97), TCU (1998-2000), Alabama (2001-02), Texas A&M (2003-07) and Texas State (2012-15), a figure that rises to 213-135-2 including earlier stops at Southwestern College, Pittsburg State and Southwest Texas State, where he won eight conference championships.
He first made his name nationally at TCU, inheriting a programme that had gone 1-10 and leading the Horned Frogs to three straight winning seasons behind running back LaDainian Tomlinson, including a 10-1 regular season in 2000 — the school’s most wins in a season since 1938, with Tomlinson finishing fourth in Heisman Trophy voting.
“Coach was a true gentleman who loved his time at TCU and set the program on the path to all of the great success that has followed,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said. “College football is in a better place for having Dennis Franchione’s influence on it, and today is a great loss to all who knew him.”
At Alabama, Franchione won 17 games across two seasons, including the 2001 Independence Bowl — the Crimson Tide’s first bowl win in five years — before leaving for Texas A&M as NCAA sanctions loomed over violations committed under his predecessor Mike DuBose. He resigned from Texas A&M after the 2007 season following revelations that his personal assistant had been sending inside team information to boosters for payment.
Read next: More college football news
Sources: Reuters — Former TCU, Alabama, Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione dies, USA Today — Dennis Franchione dead at 75, The Tuscaloosa News — former Alabama coach dead at 75
More on this topic: all Sport stories
