Houston Franks

Franks comes to Baton Rouge with 20+ years of coaching distance runners under his belt. He served as the head cross country coach at Mississippi State dating back to 2011 and he has been on staff in Starkville with the track and field program since 2004. Prior to his stint at Mississippi State, Franks’ coaching career began at Southwest Missouri State University (now known as Missouri State University); he spent five seasons in Missouri and led the Bears to three Missouri Valley Conference women’s titles on the cross country circuit. He was named the 2016 USTFCCCA South Region Coach of the Year during the cross country season for leading the Bulldogs’ women’s team to the NCAA South Region crown before registering the best finish in program history at the NCAA Championships (15th place). That 2016 squad featured a Mississippi State record of five All-Region honorees, each whom finished in the top 25 of the regional meet, and the Bulldogs were the top finishing SEC team in the nation that year. Prior to Starkville, Franks spent five years at Southwest Missouri State University (1999-2004). He led his women’s teams to three Missouri Valley Conference titles, and during his last three years, the Bears’ women’s squad finished in the top four at the NCAA Midwest Regionals each year. He was a three-time MVC Coach of the Year in women’s cross country.