2013 Tennessean of the Year
Dr. Bill Emendorfer, Executive Director of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, announced that James Franklin would be the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame’s Tennessean of the Year during halftime ceremonies of the 2013 Black and Gold Spring Game.
Franklin was the first Vanderbilt coach to receive the Tennessean of the Year Award.
Franklin was honored by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame after guiding the 2012 Commodores to a 9-4 campaign capped by a 38-24 victory over N.C. State in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville.
The 2012 squad matched a school record for single-season victories that dates to 1915. The team also ended with a seven-game win streak, which ranks as the longest active streak in the Southeastern Conference.
Franklin was named as Vanderbilt’s head coach in December 2010. In two years, Franklin has guided the Commodores to a 15-11 overall record and consecutive postseason bowl appearances for the first time in the team’s 122-year football history.
The only other Tennessean of the Year recipient with Vanderbilt ties is current U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, the former Tennessee governor who ran track as a Commodore undergraduate.
The Tennessean of the Year is the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame’s premier honor and is presented to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to our state through sports or other methods, demonstrating outstanding character and leadership.