Fran Welch and Bill Hargiss Honored
...cited for meritorious service
Topeka Capital, May 1970

     EMPORIA (Special) — Two famed coaches will be among four outstanding alumni of Kansas State Teachers College here to be honored this week for meritorious service to the college.
     The four are Homer W. "Bill" Hargiss, a 1909 graduate; Francis G. "Fran" Welch, a 1918 graduate; Margaret Lowe Burke, a 1931 graduate, and Arthur E. Grope, a 1927 graduate.
     Hargiss will receive a Distinguished Alumnus Award Thursday night, at a dinner in his honor. The other three will receive similar certificates at a luncheon Friday during Alumni Day.
     An outstanding KSTC athlete, Hargiss later coached at College of Emporia and Oregon State University and served for many years as coach and director of KSTC Physical Education Dept., leaving to become head football coach at the University of Kansas.
     Welch, a standout football player in school, served there for 24 years as football coach and remained head of the track squad until 1965, five years after retiring as director of athletics. He coached several U.S. Olympic teams and was named to the NAIA Track and Field Hall of Fame.