For nearly 30 years, Joe Franklin has built a reputation as one the nation's best coaches, especially in cross country and distance events.

He's also been loyal.

From 1994 to 2007, Franklin was the head coach at Butler University. He then took over at New Mexico, leading the Lobos to unprecedented success. He surely had plenty of opportunities to leave, but he remained committed and picky when it came to his next opportunity.

Franklin believes he has now found the right job.

In June, he was named as the new head track and field and cross country coach at the University of Louisville, a program that Franklin thinks has the potential to consistently be near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Still, his decision to leave New Mexico was not easy.

"I'm not a job-hopper," Franklin said. "When it comes down to it, this is a fantastic opportunity and a great decision. But to say that it was immediate, that wasn't the case."

He added: "There's always a thought process that goes through things, so that was important in this decision. It was making sure that it's right for my family, for everybody involved. And unequivocally, it is."

Franklin is hoping to accomplish at Louisville what he also did at Butler and New Mexico, winning league and NCAA championships.

When Franklin took over at Butler, he was in his mid-20s, having only three years of experience at the college level but knowing what it was that he wanted to do.

After graduating from Purdue in 1991, where he was a two-time All-Big Ten selection in the 800m, he spent the summer working as a technical writer.

"At that point, I realized I could never sit in an office for eight hours," Franklin said. "I was like, 'I can't do this. I can't be a technical writer. This is going to drive me crazy.'"

That fall, he accepted the head coaching job at DePauw University, a Division III college in Franklin's hometown of Greencastle, Indiana. The job paid $3,000 per year, plus Franklin received a free meal plan and free graduate classes.

"I think it was less than I got on scholarship at Purdue," Franklin joked. "That's what you did back then -- you started out low."

After a year at DePauw, Franklin spent two years as an assistant at Purdue before heading to Butler, which is in Indianapolis, about an hour east of Greencastle.

It was a rebuilding job, to say the least.

"They were irrelevant in all aspects," Franklin said, although he noted that "we saw a vision there, saw a campus and University that could support cross country and track."

During his tenure, Butler's cross country team became the best program in the Horizon League on a regular basis. The women's team qualified for the NCAA Championships twice, while the men's team made the NCAA meet six times, including a fourth-place finish in 2004. That year, Franklin was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCA) men's cross country coach of the year.

"I'm not a job-hopper," Franklin said. "When it comes down to it, this is a fantastic opportunity and a great decision. But to say that it was immediate, that wasn't the case."

Butler's Victoria Mitchel won the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships, while Becky Lyne finished third in the 800m at the 2003 NCAA outdoor meet.

"We had quite a run there when nobody had ever done it before," Franklin said. "And now (current head coach) Matt Roe has continued on and had great, great teams."

Franklin's accomplishments at New Mexico were even more impressive. The women's cross country team won the NCAA meet in 2015 and 2017, with the USTFCCA naming Franklin National Coach of the Year after each of those victories.

The Lobos women also finished second in the nation in 2018 and again last year.

Under Franklin's guidance, New Mexico athletes won 10 NCAA individual titles. That list includes Ednah Kurgat (2015 women's cross country); Weini Kelati (2019 women's cross country and 2019 outdoor women's 10,000m); Courtney Frerichs (2016 women's steeplechase); Kendall Spencer (2012 men's indoor long jump); Lee Emanuel (2009 and 2010 men's indoor mile); and Josh Kerr (2017 men's outdoor 1,500m and 2017 and 2018 men's indoor mile).

Some of his New Mexico athletes have excelled professionally, too. For instance, Frerichs won the silver medal at the Olympics in 2021. This week, Kerr won the 1,500m at the World Championships, out kicking reigning Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to pull off the upset and win the gold medal.

Although Franklin was settled at New Mexico and content there, he was intrigued when Louisville reached out to him and asked if he would be interested in replacing former coach Dale Cowper.

Franklin grew up about 160 miles from Louisville, while his wife was raised about 70 minutes away from campus. When he visited the school, he was impressed with its campus and surrounding area and felt a strong connection with Josh Heird, who took over as Louisville's athletics director in June 2022.

"It presented itself as just a fantastic opportunity to try to build (a program)," Franklin said. "It was the perfect storm of being close to family, a great athletic department, an unbelievable city and a fantastic leader in Josh."

Since arriving at Louisville, Franklin has been busy hiring a staff and recruiting. He brought along two assistants from New Mexico in jumps coach Bob Thurnhoffer and multis coach/director of operations Wyatt Rhoads and hired four other coaches: Baylee Mires (distance), who was an assistant last year at Florida State; Cory Martin (throws), who was previously at Indiana; Brooke Rasnick (pole vault), who was an assistant at Louisville from 2013-22 before taking last year off; and Ronnie Williams (sprints), who was an assistant at Arizona State from 2009 to 2017.

Louisville has added several transfers as well, including Rylee Penn, who ran 2:01.90 in the 800m and 4:10.13 in the 1,500m and finished second at ACCs in cross country last year at Cincinnati. The Cardinals also have two women who ran for Franklin at New Mexico in Lauren Bettencourt and Alessandra Rodriguez.

When he was at New Mexico, Franklin was an elite recruiter, particularly outside the U.S.

He said he'll continue to cast a wide net at Louisville, both across the U.S. and abroad.

"The best thing about our sport is it's very objective, so it doesn't matter where they're from," he said. "It doesn't matter where they are or what event areas, as long as they're great students, great people and great athletes."

During the 2022-23 school year, the Louisville women were 15th in the ACC in cross country, ninth in the ACC indoor meet and eighth in the ACC outdoor meet, while the women were 12th, third and fourth, respectively.

"It presented itself as just a fantastic opportunity to try to build (a program)," Franklin said. "It was the perfect storm of being close to family, a great athletic department, an unbelievable city and a fantastic leader in Josh."

The Cardinals have some top talents returning, including high jumper Brion Stephens, who was the USATF U20 champion in the high jump; high jumper Trey Allen, who was third at the NCAA indoor meet and tied for fourth at the NCAA outdoor meet; long jumper Synclair Savage, who finished eighth at the NCAA outdoor meet; and sprinter Cameron Miller, who was eighth in the 200m at the NCAA outdoor meet.

But Franklin is hoping to recruit and develop more athletes like them. Right now, he believes he has the staff, financial resources and commitment from the athletics department to help his athletes achieve their goals.

"We just have to get that message out and build it from the ground up just like we did at Butler, just like we did at new Mexico," he said. "Now, we're gonna do it at Louisville."

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