In her five decades at Temple University, former women’s fencing coach Dr. Nikki Franke broke barriers and built opportunities for future generations.<\/p>\n
The New York native, who has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Pat Summit Award<\/a>, didn’t pick up the sport of fencing until it was introduced to her during her senior year of high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Fencing changed my life from that moment on,” Franke told CBS News Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Falling in love with the foil, Franke pursued collegiate fencing, became a Brooklyn College Hall of Famer, and competed in the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games.<\/a><\/p>\n “A dream come true,” Franke said. “I hadn’t thought about it. I just fenced because I enjoyed it. You meet athletes from all over the world, idols of yours.”\u00a0<\/p>\n While pursuing a masters at Temple and teaching fencing classes, she noticed the Owls had a men’s fencing team, but only a women’s club.<\/p>\n Franke formed the first Temple women’s team and became the head coach in 1972 at only 21 years old. She described her first year as a hectic one, pulling athletes from numerous sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We taught people from scratch who never fenced before,” she said. “‘Oh, you look like you know your right hand from next, so come, learn a new sport.’ My first All American was a field hockey player.”<\/p>\n Franke led Temple’s fencing program for 50 years, during which it was often ranked in the top 10. She coached 25 Temple fencers to a combined 35 All American selections, and 37 of her fencers earned a combined 66 appearances at the NCAA fencing championships.\u00a0<\/p>\n She was a four-time U.S. Fencing Coaches Association coach of the year and accumulated 898 career wins, making her the winningest women’s coach in Temple’s history.<\/p>\n “Just knowing that I had something to do with the growth and development of young women and their commitment to their community,” Franke said of her decades in coaching.<\/p>\n Franke also co-founded the Black Women in Sport Foundation.<\/a> <\/p>\n “We try to expose inner-city youth to non-traditional sports \u2013 things they won’t see in their schools. If they don’t get exposed, they don’t know what they can do,” Franke said.<\/p>\n If you know of an athlete or coach that you want to see on Hometown Hustle, you can email Krystle Rich at\u00a0hometownhustle@cbs.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n