Dennis Franchione, legendary Pitt State football coach, dies at 75
Pitt State Athletics confirmed his passing Tuesday.
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Dennis Franchione, the Hall of Fame coach who transformed Pittsburg State football into an undisputed national powerhouse, has died following a battle with cancer.
He was 75.
"We lost one of the greats today," said Pitt State President Thomas Newsom. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all those in Gorilla Nation and across the country whose lives he touched."
Franchione entered hospice care earlier this month after the cancer returned this year, according to family friends. He had previously beaten a cancerous kidney tumor diagnosed in 2016 and reached full remission following a more aggressive cancer diagnosis in 2021.
Known across the sport simply as "Coach Fran," Franchione took over at his alma mater in 1985, pulling double duty as both head football coach and athletic director through 1989. Over those five seasons, he did not just win. He dominated.
Franchione compiled an astonishing 53–6 record, good for an .898 winning percentage. His teams tore through conference opponents with a 37–1 mark, captured five consecutive league titles, and earned five straight postseason playoff berths. That sustained run earned him NAIA Division I National Coach of the Year honors twice.
His defining moment in Pittsburg came in 1989. With Franchione guiding the athletic department, the Gorillas made the leap from NAIA competition to NCAA Division II and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
The Gorillas never skipped a beat. Pitt State rolled through the MIAA with an undefeated league record, set a then-school record with 12 wins, and proved immediately that Gorilla football could run over NCAA competition.
Franchione's five-year run laid the groundwork for decades of championship football in Pittsburg. His career earned him spots in both the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the MIAA Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
