University of Northern Iowa hires Megan Franklin as Panthers' new director of athletics

Megan Franklin has been hired as Northern Iowa’s new director of athletics, the university announced in a press release on Monday.

Franklin and the university have agreed to a five-year contract that is pending approval by the Iowa Board of Regents. She will officially begin her tenure at UNI on Monday, May 13, when fans and donors can meet her on the Panther Caravan beginning in Clear Lake. Franklin will also attend events in Waterloo (Tuesday), Des Moines (Wednesday) and Cedar Rapids (Thursday) that week, the release said.

Since 2012, the Lincoln, Nebraska, native worked as Drake University's senior associate athletics director – strategic initiatives and external operations/senior woman administrator. She also held the role of interim athletics director at Drake in 2017, as well as previous positions at Virginia Tech and Nebraska.

During her tenure at Drake, Franklin worked with community leaders and Catch Des Moines on plans to host NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament contests in 2019 and 2023, according to the release. She also contributed to the initial concepts of an on-campus soccer stadium.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Megan to the University of Northern Iowa," University of Northern Iowa president Mark Nook said in the release. "Megan has been a key contributor to the renaissance of Drake Athletics in recent years. Her understanding of the NCAA Division I landscape and the Missouri Valley Conference will be immediately beneficial to Panther Athletics. Her longstanding commitment to student-athlete success stood out among a field of very strong candidates.

"Megan's vision of how UNI Athletics can compete for championships, while bolstering the profile of our entire university impressed me and the rest of our search committee. We are excited for our entire campus community to meet her, as well as our passionate Panther fans and alumni."

"I appreciate president Nook and Panthers everywhere for entrusting me with the responsibility of serving as UNI's director of athletics," Franklin said in the release. "UNI's rich tradition of success in the athletics arena, in the classroom and as a key community partner were appealing for me. The signature of Panther Athletics is the people from the winningest coaching cohort in the Missouri Valley Conference to administrative professional staff who have dedicated their professions to the betterment of UNI student-athletes. As I visited campus and engaged with President Nook, his leadership team and coaches and staff, it simply confirmed many of the reasons that I have admired UNI from afar for many years. I am excited to get to Cedar Falls to build on the legacies in the Athletics Director chair of the individuals before me. Go Panthers!"

Franklin has extensive experience in the Missouri Valley Conference, handling sport administrator duties for 15 sports at Drake, including the consistently successful women's basketball program that claimed five conference titles and made five NCAA Tournament appearances during her tenure, the release said. She also hired current Drake head football coach Todd Stepsis, who was the 2023 Pioneer Football League and AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year.

Other notable head coaching hires at Drake by Franklin included volleyball head coach Darrin McBroom, men's soccer head coach Pat Flinn, women's golf head coach Steve Smith and men's tennis head coach Breaunna Addison, all of whom improved their programs greatly since coming aboard, according to the release.

Franklin arrived at Drake following a nine-year stint working in Virginia Tech's athletics department. During her time there, she helped recovery and support efforts following the horrific shooting that claimed 32 lives on the Blacksburg campus in April 2007, according to the release. She also worked as the director of student life within the athletics department to further the personal and academic development of all Virginia Tech student-athletes.

She began her professional career as an academic counselor in athletics at the University of Nebraska. Franklin earned her bachelor's degree in Community Health Education at the University of Nebraska and later received a master's degree in Educational Administration specializing in student affairs from Nebraska. She owns a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: UNI hires Megan Franklin as Panthers' new director of athletics