Franklin promoted to Interim Head Coach, Emerson steps into assistant role

Butler Athletic Director Todd Carter has named former assistant coach, Greg Franklin, Interim Head Track & Cross Country coach at Butler.

With the recent departure of former head coach Dustin Mettler, Franklin steps into this role after serving as an assistant coach for the Grizzlies for seven years. Franklin specializes in the sprints on the track side but has a vast amount of knowledge of coaching young men and women at this level. He has led the Grizzlies track and field program to a number of Individual NJCAA National Championships, most recently, this past year, with the men's indoor 200m dash and the women's outdoor 4x400 meter relay claiming the top spot in the nation. 

With the promotion of Franklin, that left an assistant job open which was recently filled by Mark Emerson.

Mark Emerson begins his first year with the Butler Track & Field/Cross Country program and will take the lead with the Cross Country teams and distance runners.

Most recently, Emerson was an assistant coach at Fort Scott Community College where he helped the Greyhounds to their first national ranking for the men's and women's cross country teams in school history. He coached the first All-American in school history in cross country, the first KJCCC Outdoor Championship for men and women in school history and was part of the first indoor conference championship for women in school history. 

Prior to Fort Scott, Emerson was a Graduate Assistant at Waldorf University and a volunteer assistant at Kansas Wesleyan University. 

Emerson, a native of Junction City, KS, is a graduate of Allen Community College and Kansas Wesleyan where he participated in track and field and cross country during his collegiate career. 

"Butler Community College has always had a tradition of excellence," said Emerson. "The Cross Country/Track & Field teams have had previous success and helping contribute to the future of the program is very appealing. Butler is one of the premiere junior colleges in the nation. The school is one that I can get behind and believe is a great place for any student to attend. The community is very supportive of Butler Community College and has drawn me to this area."

Butler kicks off the 2021 Cross Country season on Friday, September 3 in Hutchinson at the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic. Women's 3-mile begins at 8:30pm followed by the men's 4-mile at 9:05pm.