After 42 years in various roles at Azusa Pacific, Terry Franson has retired and left APU forever changed.
“Terry Franson is on the Mount Rushmore of Azusa Pacific Athletics. As a coach, he built the greatest track and field dynasty in NAIA history,” Azusa Pacific athletic director Gary Pine said.
Seeing that Franson has 11 NAIA outdoor championships under his belt, the most of any NAIA school, Pine’s words aren’t an exaggeration. Franson was also named NAIA Coach of the Year for ten consecutive seasons, coached 123 All-Americans, 81 national champions and eight Olympians while he was the head of Azusa Pacific’s track and field team from 1980-1995.
I was first introduced to Franson in October, but that day I had no idea I was interviewing a man who carried such an immense legacy. Immediately, I noticed his dedication as a father, husband and Christian.
The Early Years
As a child, Franson’s family passed down lessons of integrity, such as how his grandfather once walked Alaskan sled dogs 25 miles back to their rightful owner and how his grandmother, a mail order bride, made Afghan blankets for many loved ones and people in her neighborhood.
His high school football coach also had an immense influence on him, demonstrating how “everyone mattered” in the way he treated all of his players the same. He was often seen wheeling around students in wheelchairs down the school halls.
Still, Franson said he himself was a real jerk before he allowed God into his life. At Cal State Chico, he was a great track and football athlete, which contributed to his obsession with winning. His life took a new path when a few teammates invited him to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) meeting.
A year later, Franson and Nancy, now his wife of 49 years, attended a crusade. “This changed my lifestyle; it changed the way I played and coached — it changed everything for me,” Franson said.
After college, Franson taught a special needs classroom, coached the high school football team and led an FCA group.
Although he wasn’t Catholic, he attended his students’ Catholic church. One Sunday when he went up for communion, the Irish priest asked to see him after mass.
The priest relayed the athletes’ parents’ concern that their children were saying they had become Christians. Franson replied to the priest, “Ah, I’ll tell you what it’s all about. What I’m doing is talking to them, asking if they know Jesus in their heart, and not at all telling them there’s anything wrong with Catholic theology or that they should leave the Catholic church. I’m just asking if they have Jesus.”
After this conversation, family members of the students were invited to attend FCA meetings. It soon wasn’t unusual to have parents of athletes showing up to weekly meetings.
His Start at Azusa Pacific
“When God does things, he does them in a very wonderful and miraculous way,” Azusa Pacific former head basketball coach Cliff Hamlow said at Franson’s field dedication. That was very much the case with Franson’s call to collegiate coaching.
There were no coaching positions open in 1978 for Franson, and thus, Hamlow wasn’t very enthused to interview him. However, the interview went so well that a position was created for him: an assistant track and football coach.
That day, Nancy asked Franson what he thought about APU. He replied, “Oh I just love it!” His wife then told him to look up ahead. “What do you think those are?” she asked. Franson was taken aback when his wife informed him they were mountains hidden by thick smog. Nancy felt there was no way they could ever raise a family in the Southern California air.
Despite the smog and decrease in salary, Franson and his wife couldn’t resist the call to Azusa Pacific. Through the highs and lows of his first season, Franson kept his eyes on the old Hillside campus cross, reigning high above on the hill by the dirt track.
Azusa Pacific and its students quickly became a family to him. The Fransons opened their home during the holidays to anyone who couldn’t go home, and as his daughters grew up, they worked the snack bar at football games and track meets. This made the transition to head coach of track in the early 1980s much more of a family affair.
In ’81, when Azusa Pacific became a university, Franson started the women’s track team. This program birthed stars such as Fatimat Yusuf, who won a silver medal in the 4×4 relay in the ’96 Olympics, but it started from humble beginnings. It began with cafeteria recruits, which consisted of Franson and the guys scouting potential athletes in the cafeteria and asking them to try out for the team.
This reinforced the team philosophy that “everyone mattered.” Franson said, “I asked Olympic level athletes like bronze medalist Dave Johnson to help coach beginning level athletes on the team.” He added, laughing. “I really appreciated Johnson’s help because all of the girls were a lot more willing to listen to Johnson than they were to me.”
In ’82, Innocent Egbunike joined the team. “I thought it was a prank at first when I received a letter from a guy in Africa named Innocent Egbunike who said he ran for Nigeria in the Moscow Olympics at 17 years old, and that his parents would only allow him to come to the states if he went to a Christian school,” Franson said.
However, the letter was no joke, and Franson helped coach APU’s first Olympic athlete when in 1984 Egbunike won bronze in the 4×400 relay.
This established a partnership with Nigerian athletes, and in 1988, four Nigerian APU track members (three men and one woman) went to the Seoul Korea Olympics. Franson also became the sprint coach for the Nigerian Olympic track team.
APU track and field was now getting world wide recognition as a dynasty. “With all of the success of our program, I sort of reverted to my old college self where I became driven by the wins,” said Franson. He recalled one particular track meet where he received a wake up call.
At this time, some of APU’s team members were demonstrating poor character. Because of this, another school’s track coach approached Franson privately. The coach said that although he had always admired Franson and his team, it wasn’t the same team anymore. At first, Franson got defensive, but he soon realized a change had to be made.
Franson was tested when a group of guys acted out badly enough to result in exclusion from the team right before the NAIA championships. The team members in jeopardy were key scorers, and if Franson punished them before the big event, he risked the championship title. Still, Franson knew what he had to do. “We might have won that year, but instead took second, and looking back it was the right choice,” Franson said.
Throughout the years Franson has shown tough love. A prime example is with Mike Barnett. When Franson watched Barnett throw a football during football practice, he knew he might be a great javelin thrower. However, during Barnett’s freshman year, Franson almost kicked him off of the team. Barnett turned things around, however, and became a humble, young man of God. He continued to experience success on the field, throwing javelin in the ’92 Olympics, as well as being a four time United States champion in the javelin.
The Story of Franson and Olympian Dave Johnson
Franson also helped to mold the character of Dave Johnson, whom he coached for nearly 12 years. When he was thrust onto the world stage in ’92, Johnson had every reason to be full of himself. That year, in preparation for the Olympics in Barcelona, he and Dan O’brien starred in the well known 23 million dollar Reebok commercials “Dan and Dave.” (which Franson himself made an appearance in). With this spotlight, America quickly saw both O’Brien and Johnson as heroes.
They also saw Johnson as the destined Olympic winner when he delivered a phenomenal performance at the trials. But what followed the trials for Johnson was completely unexpected and encapsulated how Franson always coached from the heart.
During training before the Olympics, Johnson kept complaining about a sore foot. Franson can still feel how his heart sank when the doctor told him privately that Johnson’s foot was fractured in three places. The doctor asked Franson if he wanted to be the one to tell him.
It was one of the hardest conversations Franson has had to have. After telling him, Johnson’s head dropped in despair feeling that the years of training had gone out the window. In what was to be his second Olympics, Johnson had planned to win gold and break the American record. All that being in jeopardy, Johnson threw a fit.
However, Franson pulled him back together. “I told him we’re still going to go for it. Dave didn’t think it was possible to train on a broken foot. He didn’t believe he could compete in five weeks but I knew we had to give everything we had.”
Johnson trained mostly in secret: in the water and in the weight room, not allowing anyone to find out about his injury. Before the Olympic Decathlon began, which consisted of two days and ten events, Johnson only jogged one lap.
The first day Johnson struggled to perform at his usual level on a still broken foot. Franson recalled, “Dave was so frustrated because he knew he wasn’t going to win, and he knew he had the ability to win. He kept wanting to quit, but I was lucky enough to have an infinity pass so I could go down to the stadium to talk to him.”
Franson especially held his breath for the 110 meter hurdles — an event that neither Johnson nor Franson knew if it would be possible to make it through. Yet Johnson completed it without further injuring his foot.
In the second to last event, Johnson gave an incredible showing in the javelin. While throwing the javelin, Franson shouted to Johnson from the stands. A little American boy sitting beside Franson looked up at him with a question, “Are you Dave Johnson’s coach? He’s going to win isn’t he?!” the boy asked.
Franson answered honestly, saying he probably would not win any medal. The boy argued back. “Why not? This is Dave! I’ve seen him so often on TV. He’s going to win the gold medal!” Franson let the boy in on the secret, revealing Johnson was competing on a broken foot. The boy wanted to know why he would still compete while injured.
Franson responded, “Well he’s doing that for you and for every boy and girl who saw those commercials to show that it’s about doing your best no matter what. He’s doing it to show you that when life doesn’t go as planned, we can’t just quit even if the gold is gone.”
Since Franson had the chance to speak to Johnson before his final event, the 1500 meter race, he asked the boy if there was anything he’d like to tell Johnson. “Tell him I’m so proud of him and that he gave it his all,” the boy said.
Photo of Dave and Sheri Johnson, Coach Kevin Reid and the Franson family, celebrating Dave’s journey for Olympic Gold via Terry Franson
When Franson went to see Johnson, Johnson wanted to throw in the towel. Franson tried to assure him with the words of the boy, adding, “Even if you have to get out there and crawl to finish then that’s what you gotta do. It takes guys like you, for hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions to know that they should never give up no matter what; soon everyone will know just what you did on that foot of yours.”
The motivation took a few moments to set in for Johnson. He decided to run, and because of this he took the bronze in the decathlon. Without a hint of disappointment, Johnson crossed the finish line and was the first one to embrace the winner, Robert Zmelik.
Ultimately, Franson taught his athletes that Christ comes before the gold. Former APU athlete and NAIA champion, Vince Beresford, summarized this with a short story during the dedication of Franson’s Field. Beresford recalled how Franson was on the phone with Sports Illustrated discussing Dave Johnson when he overheard Franson say, “No you don’t understand, it’s about Jesus Christ. It’s not only about the other stuff you said so please don’t just print that because that would not be accurate.”
Life after Coaching
Photo of Coach Franson walking the Hall of Champions with ADA Coordinator Travis Davis after chapel via Terry Franson
In 1995, Franson stepped down from coaching to focus on his family and his position as athletic director. In 2023, he retired from APU after years of serving as the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students — a role that, at first, he thought he was unqualified for.
Pine said of his impact in these non-athletic coaching roles, “As an administrator, he helped establish APU as the NAIA’s premier Athletics program throughout the 1990s and 2000s. And he did it because he placed great value on relationships with each individual, seeing them with the value that God uniquely gave to each person.”
Indeed, Franson has left such an impact that he might be featured on the big screen. This was revealed to him while he was in Paradise, the town that had experienced one of America’s deadliest wildfires in the last century. While watching a football game at Paradise High School, where one of his former high school athletes coached, Franson was suddenly approached by a stranger. “You’re going to be in my movie,” the stranger told him.
This stranger turned out to be a screenwriter who was hired to write a feature film centered around the Dan and Dave story. Backed by Tom Brady, many are hopeful this movie will be produced.
In light of all of this, I now understand why after meeting him briefly in October, I felt a certain honor everytime I walked by Franson’s Field. In our more recent interviews, I have realized just how much of a privilege it is to know him.
You can’t talk to Franson and walk away unchanged. He still carries the heart of a coach, and I know first hand that if you ever get the chance to meet him, Franson may pray over you and invest in your life for a very long time.