Texas State has hired Dennis Franchione as its next head football coach. Franchione has been out of the game for three years. His last coaching position was as head coach at Texas A&M. Before that, Franchione spent time at Alabama and TCU. Texas State’s former head coach, Brad Wright, was fired on November 22nd.
This is actually Franchione’s second stint at Texas State (then Southwest Texas). He was hired in 1990 to coach what was then a Division 1-AA athletic program.
Last month, the university announced that Texas State would be moving up to Division-1 (Football Bowl Subdivision or FBS) over the next two years and joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2012. UT-San Antonio is making the move to the WAC along with Texas State.
Franchione addressed the media just a short time ago and talked about the move to the WAC:
“From the moment I heard about that, it was exciting," Franchione said. "There are going to be challenges with this. There’s going to be a transition ahead. But, going to Division-1 opens doors. And we have a fertile recruiting base."
Franchione also thanked Texas State athletic director Larry Teis. Franchione and Teis have a longstanding relationship having worked together for three years at New Mexico and for one year at TCU.
In 25 years of coaching, Franchione has a 64% winning percentage, amassing 187 victories.