When There is Passion and Purpose in Sport, Greatness Follows

When a coach has motivations that are truly pure and wants nothing more than to give back to the sport that has given them so much, success is bound to follow. It is safe to say that Temple fencing's Dr. Nikki Franke is the embodiment of this attitude, and has reaped the rewards – even if the impressive numbers that come with it will never interest her.

"I never thought about that at all," said Franke on her recent milestone of reaching 800 career wins. "It never crossed my mind. Even this year I wasn't aware of it until Karen in sports information told me."

In early February, on the second day of the Northwestern Duals, the legendary and only head coach of Temple women's fencing earned that 800th career victory. She would have been only too happy to move on with the competition, but as a beloved coach, mentor, educator and person, those around her were certainly not going to let that happen.

"The team was more excited than I was," she laughs. "They were really very happy. It was the first match of the day so I was just thinking about the next opponent, but it was nice to have them so excited. They recognized it at the competition and a lot of my fellow coaches and the referees I knew came over and congratulated me. That was nice. That was unexpected."

Frankly, no pun intended, Franke should be used to the routine by now. Win number 700 was celebrated at Sacred Heart in 2015. Win number 600 was, coincidentally, also celebrated on day two of the Northwestern Duals back in 2010. Franke's 500th win was a 27-0 sweep of NJIT in early 2006. All were celebrated in similar ways – with banners, flowers, cake, hugs and photos. And every time, not surprisingly, Franke credits her student-athletes. Her quote from win 500, 12 years ago, is a carbon copy of her remarks after win 800.

"It's a tribute to all the teams we've had and all the strong fencers that have come through our program," Franke said in 2006. "They have all contributed to that result. It speaks volumes to the quality of the student-athletes we've had in our program."

That mantra has been repeated each time, but it isn't rehearsed. She means it. Franke also gives plenty of credit to the many talented assistant coaches she's had over the years, with fencing being unique in each coach dedicating themselves to one of the three weapons (epee was added in 1993 and sabre followed in 1999). Franke herself has coached the foil squad from the beginning, and led that squad to an NCAA Championship in 1992.

The personal accolades Franke has racked up in both her competitive and coaching careers are numerous and extremely impressive. She was a member of the 1976 and 1980 U.S. Olympic Teams and was the United States Fencing Association's (USFA) National Foil Champion in both 1975 and 1980. She is a Hall of Famer at Brooklyn College where she graduated from in 1972. Three more Hall of Fame inductions would follow: the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame (1995), the United States Fencing Association Hall of Fame (1998) and the International Sports Hall of Fame (2002). Since beginning her coaching career, Franke has been selected as the USFA Coach of the Year four times.

"I've been very fortunate," she said. "Temple gave me an opportunity when I was a very young coach to come in and start this program (in 1972). We started before scholarships, before fencing was an NCAA sport. We started with walk-ons and kids out of the fencing class. To go from where we were to where we are now – it's been a tremendous journey. My thanks go out to all the athletes who have been part of our program and who still support our program, and all the coaches that have worked with us. The wins are theirs also."

Now in her 46th year leading the Temple fencing program, Franke has retired from her other job as associate professor in the Department of Public Health, but shows no signs of bringing her coaching career to an end.

"You always strive to improve and you're always striving to get better. With freshmen coming in and seniors graduating, it's always a new dynamic. That's what keeps it interesting and keeps you motivated. I love working with the student-athletes we have in our program…I keep doing it because I'm having fun. I still enjoy it. Fencing was very, very good to me and it gave me a lot. It changed my life in so many different ways and I just try to give that back to our athletes."

Temple University Athletics

When There is Passion and Purpose in Sport, Greatness Follows

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