| Title: | Head Coach |
| Phone: | 812-888=5744 |
| Email: | tfranklin@vinu.edu |
Men's Head Basketball Coach Todd Franklin
Todd Franklin will enter his 27th season as a head coach at the collegiate level with the 2023-24 season.
Coach Franklin earned his 600th career win with the Trailblazers' 72-60 victory over Odessa (Texas) in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on March 21, 2019. His current career record is 689-175 between his teams at Southeastern Illinois and Vincennes. His career record is 359-78 for the Trailblazers.
Coach Franklin earned his 300th career victory as head coach of the Trailblazers with a 79-63 win over Southwestern Illinois in the Central District Semifinals in March 2020.
The VU Men's Basketball team earned their ninth consecutive trip to the NJCAA national tournament in 2021 breaking the all-time record set by Moberly Area in 1958 and increasing their record for most tournament appearances at 36.
The Blazers returned to the NJCAA National Tournament in 2023, reaching the National Quarterfinals and finished the season with a record of 30-6, VU's 19th 30-win season and an NJCAA Record 37th trip to the NJCAA National Tournament. The 2022-23 Trailblazers also set a new NJCAA record for most wins at the National Tournament with 67.
The 2019-20 Blazers finished the season with a 28-5 record, with the season coming to an abrupt end just before the NJCAA national tournament in Kansas. Vincennes has won 25 or more games in each of the past nine seasons under Franklin and has won 20 or more games in 38 of the last 39 years.
The 2018-19 Trailblazers compiled a 34-2 record, were ranked as high as No. 1 in the national poll, won the District 16 regular-season title and claimed the program's fourth national championship. It was first national title for VU since 1972.
During the 2018-2019 season, not only did Franklin lead VU to the NJCAA Division I men's basketball national championship, he was named Coach of the Tournament. After winning the national title, he received the 2019 National Association of Basketball Coaches NJCAA Coach of the Year award and was named the 2019 Spalding NJCAA Men's Basketball Division I Coach of the Year.
His first season as the Trailblazers coach was the 2010-11 season. He spent 13 seasons at the helm at Southeastern Illinois College. He has overseen 14 trips in the last 18 seasons to the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship national tournament.
Prior to his arrival at VU, Coach Franklin recorded 330 wins in 13 seasons at Southeastern Illinois and led the Falcons to 12 20-win campaigns. Two of those seasons reached the 30-victory mark. Southeastern Illinois earned spots in the NJCAA National Tournament in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2010 under Franklin. Southeastern Illinois reached the NJCAA Final Four during the 2003-04 season.
Among the VU Trailblazer standouts during Coach Franklin’s tenure, he has coached over 120 athletes in 24 years that have moved on to receive full-ride scholarship offers at the next level.
Throughout his career as a NJCAA head coach, Coach Franklin has coached in 14 Division I national tournaments beginning with the 2002-2003 season. In addition to guiding VU to the 2019 national championship with an 87-77 victory over Ranger (Texas) in the title game, Franklin coached the Trailblazers to a third-place finish in 2014 and fourth-place finishes in 2013 and 2018. Under Franklin, Southeastern Illinois placed fourth at the national tournament in 2004.
Coach Franklin was inducted into the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018 and was named by Basketball Times as one of the top 5 junior college head coaches in the country prior to the 2018-19 season because of his accomplishments and served as the President of the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Franklin has been a special guest speaker at Nike Basketball Camps, and has proven to consistently be one of the most winning coaches in the NJCAA.
Before becoming coach at Southeastern Illinois, Coach Franklin spent six years at NCAA Division II Missouri-Rolla and was on staff for one season at NCAA Division I Austin Peay.
Coach Franklin, who played at Union College and Brescia College, holds a master's degree in health and physical education from Austin Peay. He has a bachelor's degree in history, with a minor in athletic coaching, from Western Kentucky.
Coach Franklin and his wife, Stephanie, have two daughters, Madison and Mary.
812-888-5744 or tfranklin@vinu.edu