In 2014, Jamie Franco never could have predicted his two worlds would collide as they have a decade later.

Back then, the Monroe, New York native was finishing his collegiate wrestling career as a three-time NCAA qualifier for Hofstra University, while at the same time earning his degree in business marketing.

And now, all these years later, he combines both his athletic experiences and academic background on a daily basis as the head coach at his alma mater.

“A lot of my brothers, my dad, my uncles have all been in sales and stuff,” Franco said during a phone conversation between practice and prepping for this weekend’s two-and-a-half-hour road trip to Philadelphia.

“So, business was always something that I was interested in and something I was going to do if I wasn’t coaching.

“My mom was always like, ‘You’re going to coach.’ And my dad was always like, ‘You’re going to run a company at one point in your life.’

“So, I kind of got away with being able to do both because I view running a team like basically running a small company.”

It may’ve taken 10 years between graduation and his current gig, but Franco (now in his second season as Hofstra head coach) is finally combining those passions into what he hopes will become a sustained run of success for ‘The Pride of Long Island.’

A Special Situation

Not yet 17 months into his new position, Franco reflects on his experience thus far:

“It’s actually been fun because I’ve always been involved in this program. So, for me to be able to take it over is very special for me.”

“The relationships that I built as an athlete…and then to be able to come back as the head coach…just being able to keep these generations of wrestlers that were here before me and then after me and kind of meshing them together.”

Some of those efforts were on full display recently.

“We just had an alumni event where we had 40-plus alums come back for our dual this past weekend,” Franco said. “We had our (only) national champ, Nick Gallo, who won the NCAA title in 1977, at our clinic to teach and just listen to him.

“No one knew where Hofstra was back then. So, to me, I think that’s the fun stuff. And that was something that some people aren’t ready for (as head coach).”

Of course, someone like Franco is most focused on his current team and its progress and achievements. But he also views those connections to the past as part of the foundation upon which he wants to build Hofstra going forward.

“The last, whatever it is, 16 months or so of hard work…it’s been (about) getting everyone excited for the program again and keeping everybody excited for the future,” he said. 

And speaking of the present/future, here are a few of the wrestlers Franco is relying upon to lead this year’s team.

Five Of The Guys

A trio of upperclassmen first jump to Franco’s mind when asked about his 2025-26 roster — a young group that lost both of last year’s NCAA qualifiers: Kyle Mosher (165) and Ross McFarland (184).

At 165 pounds, redshirt sophomore Jake Slotnick just recently broke into the national rankings (#33 by Flo), and is not only one of Hofstra’s “better guys” but a team captain.

“He’s definitely a guy that we lean on both athletically in the lineup, but also (in terms of) culture and locker room and keeping guys in check,” Franco said. 

A similar sentiment is expressed toward juniors Chase Liardi (141) and Jurius Clark (174) — a pair of multi-year starters.

“I think those three guys especially know what we expect out of them from both the effort level of extra workouts and stuff like that, and also how we want our guys to be living the lifestyle of being part of the Hofstra community.”

As for some up-and-comers to keep an eye on, look no further than redshirt freshmen lightweights Teague Strobel (125) and Gauge Shipp (133).

“Those guys had some very successful high school careers, and redshirt years as well. Now, it’s kind of like, ‘OK, you’re the guy.’ And they’ve been stepping up in the role of being starters and understanding what it takes to be the guy on the team.”

“We need you”

While new 30-man roster limits have forced many revenue-sharing Division I programs to adjust their approach, Hofstra was already right at home.

Franco harkens back to his own days as an athlete, when a 20-man Hofstra roster sent “five or six guys to the national tournament,” including multiple All-Americans.

“Everybody was involved — and I think the biggest thing that I instill in my team now is I don’t care if you’re a walk-on," he said. "I don’t care if you’re third string. We need you.”

The current Hofstra roster sits at just 24 total wrestlers, lending each athlete the close attention that some at more expansive programs around the country may be lacking.

But it also means there’s an inherent responsibility for each athlete to remain locked in at all times.

“If you’re a walk-on or a scholarship guy, a starter or non-starter, you’re recruited to wrestle at Hofstra," Franco said. "We need everybody at all times…and I think that’s what makes our culture here really strong — they take care of each other.”

The Journey To The Postseason

With some changes to the Division I calendar, Hofstra has adjusted its schedule with hopes of maintaining the requisite sharpness once the postseason begins in March.

“The Cliff Keen Invitational used to be a big one for us…but it’s not actually on our schedule this year because of National Duals coming in," Franco said. 

“I just heard a lot of bigger teams weren’t going, so we altered (our schedule) a little bit and got some bigger duals.”

Among them are a pair of ranked Big Ten foes, which will travel to Hofstra’s campus this season.

On December 7, #25 Wisconsin comes to town. And for its final dual on February 18, Hofstra will host #16 Rutgers.

(Both duals will stream live on FloWrestling.)

“For us, we’re trying to compete and get those top-tier matches so that our guys are ready to go by the end of the year,” Franco said.

“You don’t want your first time seeing a top 10-15 guy (to be) at conferences. So, we try to have a pretty tough schedule in the front half of the year just to kind of see where our guys are at and then we can adjust throughout the season.”