Dennis Franchione, who coached Texas A&M football for five seasons and later returned to the sideline at Texas State, died Tuesday. He was 75.
His family confirmed the death to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the outlet that broke the news, the Associated Press said. According to the Star-Telegram's reporting, he had lived with cancer for about 10 years, died in Austin and had recently entered hospice care.
Texas A&M Athletics said the department mourns its former coach. In a social media post cited by the AP, the school wrote: "Honoring the life and legacy of Coach Dennis Franchione."
Five seasons in Aggieland
Franchione, a native of Girard, Kansas, left Alabama after two seasons to succeed R.C. Slocum at A&M. His Aggie teams went 32-28 from 2003 through 2007 and played in three bowl games, according to the athletics department.
The first season was a hard one: a 4-8 finish that included a 77-0 defeat at Oklahoma. A year later the Aggies reached the Cotton Bowl. His best team in College Station went 9-4 in 2006, a season that included a 12-7 victory over Texas in Austin.
In November 2007, Franchione said he was stepping down after the Aggies beat Texas at Kyle Field. His exit came after he was linked to a paid newsletter sold to boosters for $1,200 a year, MyAggieNation noted.
Jorvorskie Lane, a fullback for Franchione from 2005 to 2007, wrote on Facebook that the two often disagreed, but that his coach had kept a promise to Lane's grandmother that he would get to carry the ball. "That opportunity became bigger than football," Lane wrote, crediting it with helping him go on to earn his degree. "Rest easy, Coach."
