Oct 6, 2007; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Dennis Franchione coaches his team against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Texas A&M beat Oklahoma State 24-23. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Texas A&M Aggies Head Coach Makes College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Originally posted on Texas A&M Aggies on SI
By Olivia Sims | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 5:42 PM ET

With the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame ballot being released, a noticeable name for Aggie fans is that of Dennis Franchione who served as the head coach of Texas A&M from 2003-2007. In his time at A&M, Franchione complied a record of 32-28 with only three winning seasons.

Before he spent four seasons at Texas A&M, Franchione took his first ever head coaching job at New Mexico before heading to TCU and Alabama. In his time at New Mexico, he finished the Lobos with a 33-36 record but also led them to a Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division Championship in 1997.

His time spent with TCU was a turning point in his career leading the Horned Frogs from a previous 1-10 record to a 7-5 record the next season. He also turned around the Alabama program going from a 3-8 record before he arrived to posting a 7-5 and 10-3 record the following two seasons.

His first season at Texas A&M was a rough one, ending the 2003 season with a 4-8 record, A&M's first losing season in 21 years, which included a blowout 77-0 loss to Oklahoma. During the 2004 season, Franchione began to rebuild the program and led the Aggies to an improving 7-5 season.

In 2005, Franchione went backwards in progressing, leading the Aggies to another losing season with a 5-6 record, as well as having the defense ranked 107th out of 119 Division I games. In 2006, Franchione turned things around once again, improving to a 9-3 record which included his first win over arch-rival Texas.

After the 2007 season, it was in the Aggies' best interest to move past Franchione, where he then became the head coach at Texas State, but not after taking three years out of football completely. During his five seasons at Texas State, with a 39-43 record, Franchione ended his coaching career going 213-135-2 overall.

This article first appeared on Texas A&M Aggies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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