Gary Franke

Gary Franke is in his 35th season as the head coach of the Washington and Lee wrestling program.  He continues to produce talented, winning wrestlers with tremendous academic credentials.

His 2006-07 team went 8-3 overall and finished 5-2 in the very competitive Centennial Conference.  Along the way, the Generals ended Ursinus' 27-match Centennial Conference winning streak in producing the programs most wins since 1986-87.

Franke's teams have finished with a winning record 16 times and he has coached the Generals to more victories than any coach in program history, claiming a 180-186-3 (.492) career record.

Along with the winning seasons, his teams won three Old Dominion Athletic Conference titles. Through the years, Franke's wrestlers have had great individual success, too. He has coached nine academic All-Americans in the last 20 years as well as one NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winner. Franke also coached the first Division III All-American in W&L wrestling history, an honor earned by Rich Redfoot in 1989.

In addition to his responsibilities as wrestling coach, Franke also coached the men's tennis team from 1979 through 2000. In 1988, he coached W&L to the NCAA Division III national tennis championship, the first national championship in school history, and he was named the ITA Division III National Coach of the Year. He also holds the rank of associate professor of physical education at the University.

A native of Minnesota, Franke is a 1971 graduate of Mankato State University. At Mankato, Franke compiled a school-record 32-match winning streak as a 118-pound wrestler. Following graduation, Franke served as an assistant coach at Army. He joined the W&L staff in the summer of 1973 as head wrestling coach and assistant trainer.

Gary and his wife Linda make their home in Lexington.  The couple have a daughter, Kara Rae, and a son, Ryan.