Former Alabama and Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione dies

Longtime college football coach Dennis Franchione died Tuesday, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He was 75.

Franchione coached at five different FBS schools, including Alabama, Texas A&M and TCU. He went to Tuscaloosa after three seasons with the Horned Frogs from 1998 through 2000.

However, Franchione didn’t stay at Alabama very long. The Crimson Tide went 17-8 in his two seasons with the school, but Franchione left for Texas A&M after the 2002 season, with the NCAA sanctions facing Alabama a factor in his decision.

As part of penalties from violations under former Alabama coach Mike DuBose, Alabama was given a two-year postseason ban and five years of probation. The Tide went 10-3 in 2002 and won the SEC West with a 6-2 conference record. But Arkansas won a three-way tiebreaker for second place and lost 30-3 to Georgia in the SEC championship game since Alabama was ineligible.

Franchione replaced R.C. Slocum at Texas A&M, but was unable to turn the Aggies into a consistent contender in the Big 12. Franchione’s teams won nine games just once in five seasons and the Aggies were 32-28 before he resigned at the end of the 2007 regular season following a controversy surrounding a paid email newsletter Franchione had been distributing without the apparent knowledge of A&M’s administration.

In it, Franchione would give boosters inside information about the team’s injuries and recruiting. He was forced to publicly apologize for the newsletter and discontinue it, while he also received an official reprimand.

After spending three seasons out of college football, Franchione was re-hired at Texas State as the Bobcats began their move to the top level of college football. Franchione was Texas State’s coach from 2011 through 2015 as the Bobcats joined the Sun Belt in 2013. Texas State is now in its first year in the Pac-12. Before coming back to Texas State in the 2010s, Franchione had been the school’s coach when it was Southwest Texas State in the early 1990s.

Franchione rose to college football prominence in his three seasons at TCU. The Horned Frogs were 25-10 during his time in Fort Worth and went 10-1 in 2000 under Franchione. Defensive coordinator Gary Patterson was promoted to replace Franchione and went on to coach the Horned Frogs for more than two decades.

Before coaching at TCU, Franchione’s first FBS head coaching job was at New Mexico. He was with the Lobos for six seasons. Overall, Franchione had a career record of 127-110 at college football’s top level and his programs posted 12 winning seasons across 20 years.

This story will be updated.