Join us on Monday for our Annual Football Awards Luncheon and hear from UNI Athletics Director, Megan Franklin!
Megan Franklin was named the University of Northern Iowa's ninth Director of Athletics in May 2024, bringing over a decade of athletic administrative experience in the Missouri Valley Conference to Cedar Falls.
The Lincoln, Nebraska native previously served over a decade as Senior Associate Athletics Director – Strategic Initiatives and External Operations/Senior Woman Administrator at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she was selected for the role of Interim Athletics Director in 2017.
The Lincoln, Nebraska native previously served over a decade as Senior Associate Athletics Director – Strategic Initiatives and External Operations/Senior Woman Administrator at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she was selected for the role of Interim Athletics Director in 2017.
In her role at Drake, she worked with community leaders and Catch Des Moines on plans to host NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament contests in 2019 and 2023. A key community partner in metropolitan Des Moines, Franklin played an integral role in the initial concepts of an on-campus soccer stadium. Mediacom Stadium forged a unique partnership between a corporate partner, Drake and Des Moines Public Schools. In addition to serving as the home field for Drake's soccer programs, the facility has hosted a myriad of competitions and events for middle and high-school students in the Des Moines district after opening in 2023.
A familiar face in the Missouri Valley Conference, Franklin was charged with handling sport administrator duties for 15 sports at Drake, including the habitually successful women's basketball program that claimed five conference titles and made five NCAA Tournament appearances during her tenure. 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.
Franklin's other notable head coaching hires at Drake have included volleyball head coach Darrin McBroom who inherited a program that had posted six consecutive losing seasons and has since transformed the Bulldogs into a squad that has finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference two of the past three years. Franklin hired Pat Flinn to guide the Drake men's soccer program in 2022. Flinn and his assistants earned Missouri Valley Conference Staff of the Year honors after elevating the Bulldogs to a second-place conference finish after being tabbed last in the preseason poll. She also hired women's golf head coach Steve Smith, who in 2022 guided the Bulldogs to their highest finish in the MVC tournament in over a decade.
Under her supervision, the Drake women's tennis team won the MVC title in 2023 under head coach Breaunna Addison, who Franklin had hired the previous year. The men's tennis program at Drake also claimed 2022 and 2023 Summit League titles and advanced to NCAA competition. Franklin also served as the sport supervisor for Drake's rowing program during her tenure in Des Moines.
Franklin arrived at Drake following a nine-year stint working in the Virginia Tech Athletics Department. During her time with the Hokies she played an integral role in coordinating recovery and support efforts following the horrific shooting that claimed 32 lives on the Blacksburg campus in April 2007. 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 serving 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.
