The Rockford University athletic department is excited to announce the hiring of Ta-Rel Franklin as its next head women’s basketball coach. Franklin joins the Regents with extensive coaching experience across the country at all NCAA levels.
“We are so excited to add Ta-Rel to the Regent Family,” Director of Athletics Jason Mulligan stated. “Coach Franklin is a dynamic and passionate leader with a lot of coaching experience at the collegiate level. I am confident that he will continue the upward trend of our women’s basketball program.”
“I would like to begin by thanking director of athletics, Jason Mulligan and the search committee for this incredible opportunity to lead the RU women’s basketball program,” Coach Franklin remarked. “Rockford University’s strong academic foundation resonates deeply with me as both a person and a coach. I am thrilled to embark on this journey and look forward to leading the Rockford University women’s basketball program towards a championship culture in the classroom, in the community and on the court.”Coach Franklin comes to Rockford University after spending one year as the director of basketball operations at NCAA Division I Cal Poly. Franklin oversaw all aspects of the women’s basketball program including: travel arrangements, film exchange and editing, budgeting and building relationships across all areas of campus. The Mustangs improved their win total by seven games with Franklin on staff for the 2023-24 season and earned their first postseason tournament appearance in ten years.
Immediately preceding that, Franklin spent a total of four years coaching at his alma mater, NCAA Division II Alderson Broaddus University. He was the head women’s basketball coach during his final season at Alderson Broaddus and the associate head men’s basketball coach for the three years prior. Franklin was heavily involved with both programs over those four years. He was responsible for recruiting, game film, scouting reports, academic monitoring, practice planning, developing players and scheduling. The women’s basketball team knocked off #13 University of Charleston in 2023 and both programs had all-conference performers under Coach Franklin’s guidance, including the 2021-22 Mountain East Conference Freshman of the Year.
Franklin also made stops as an assistant men’s basketball coach at a pair of NCAA Division III institutions, Hendrix College and Bluffton University. He was again heavily involved in all aspects of the respective programs at each school. Some of his duties included: recruiting, preparing scouting reports, player development, monitoring academic progress, organizing and running the junior varsity program and coordinating summer camps.
Franklin graduated from Alderson Broaddus University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, and then went on to earn his MBA with a concentration in Sports Management from Bluffton University.
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