In the history of Wyoming Football, there have been many student-athletes who have successfully achieved both their athletic and academic goals, but there may not be an individual who achieved at a higher level academically than Trenton Franz. 
 
Franz certainly enjoyed a great deal of success on the football field.  He was a four-year starter at center for the Cowboys from 2001-04.  Franz earned Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference honors as a sophomore and junior on way to earning First Team All-Mountain West accolades as a senior.  He was voted a team captain his senior season of 2004, and he helped lead the Cowboys to a memorable 24-21 upset victory over UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl in his final collegiate football game.
 
But off the field, Franz's achievements were even greater.  He earned First Team Academic All-America honors as a senior in 2004 and was one of only 15 college football players from all NCAA Divisions and one of only eight Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) student-athletes to be named a finalist for the National Football Foundation's Draddy Trophy.  The Draddy Trophy, which name has since been changed to the Campbell Trophy, is presented to the top collegiate football scholar-athlete in the country each season.  The award is also often referred to as the "Academic Heisman."  By being named a finalist for the Draddy Trophy, Franz earned an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship.  He also earned a postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA following his senior season, and he was one of six finalists for the state of Wyoming for a Rhodes Scholarship. 
 
His Time at Wyoming
A native of Fort Collins, Colo., Franz decided to come to the University of Wyoming for an opportunity to play college football and to also pursue an engineering degree from UW's exceptional engineering school.  Being offered a football scholarship by Wyoming was the final deciding factor for Franz, and it meant a lot not just for himself but for his family.  He is still thankful today for the opportunity that his football scholarship provided him.
 
"My parents were pretty blue-collar workers," said Franz.  "My mom worked for the university (Colorado State), and my dad was a postal carrier in Fort Collins.  As my parents and I started having conversations about college, they were happy to provide funding for school.  But it was huge to get a full scholarship from UW and to be able to get into a strong engineering program at Wyoming. 
 
"Wyoming was kind of late coming in with a scholarship offer due to the change in coaching staffs (2000 was Vic Koennig's first year as head coach of the Cowboys).  Prior to the offer, I was looking at partial scholarships or going to an Ivy League school that would have required me to participate in a work study program on top of football to pay my college expenses.  That would have meant a heavy workload for me and taking on a huge loan by my parents.  That would have been a burden on them, which they were willing to accept, but it would have been stressful.
 
"To be able to get the scholarship here at Wyoming made it much more comfortable financially for me and my family.  It was a huge benefit for not only me but for my parents.  I can't say how much I appreciated the opportunity that UW provided me."
 
After earning the opportunity to attend Wyoming, the work was just beginning for Franz.  But he welcomed the challenge of balancing an extremely demanding academic program with the challenge of playing college football at the highest level.

How did he manage his engineering class schedule around football at Wyoming?
 
"Many of my classes had a one to three-hour laboratory.  I would try to load those up in the spring semester when we didn't have any games, so that made the spring semesters pretty challenging," said Franz.  "There were a couple classes I wasn't able to fit around practice.  If I remember right, I think Surveying was Wednesday afternoons, so I actually got out of Wednesday practices during Spring Football -- which was great.  But honestly the coaches, along with my undergrad advisor, were really good about working with me on coming up with a solution and a way to work around practice or weightlifting.
 
"It was definitely demanding balancing engineering and football, especially the laboratories, but the great fundamentals I learned in that program led to helping me be successful when I went on to pursue my Ph.D."
 

Franz said he was also fortunate to be offered some opportunities to work with UW faculty early in his college career.
 
"I got connected early on with Professor Charles Dolan, who was the chair of civil and environmental engineering at UW (now a Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering)," said Franz.  "I did some summer research experiences with him and his laboratory.  He was more on the structural side of things, but he knew I was interested in water, so he pushed me to work with some other faculty. 
 
"I later got hooked up with an advisor for the master's program at Wyoming, so I finished my master's degree in my last year playing football and worked on a water project on the Bear River between Utah and Wyoming.  That was a great experience to get some research experience and think about my next career step."
 
Franz's interest in water resources first came about from a couple of family members, his maternal grandfather and an uncle, who were both involved in water resource management in the state of Colorado.
 
"In high school, living on the Front Range and seeing some of the water challenges certainly contributed to me getting interested in this field," said Franz.  "My grandfather (mother's father) was a water engineer for the state of Colorado and my uncle was too.  He worked up around Glenwood Springs on the Colorado River, so I was always kind of interested in water and was good in math and science. 
 
"One reason I liked the idea of coming to UW was it had a great engineering program.  Some of the other places that recruited me for football didn't have as good of engineering programs, so that was one of the deciding factors of coming to UW was their strong engineering program.  As I started taking more classes in college I got more interested in water and international work and that led me to my current career."
 
The Ivy League Comes Calling Again
While Franz had considered some offers from Ivy League schools when he was coming out of high school, it wasn't until he completed his undergraduate degree in 2004 and his master's degree in 2005 both in civil engineering from UW that he would eventually make his way to Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.  At Princeton, Franz earned a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering in 2007 and his Ph.D. in 2011.
 
While working on his dissertation (titled "Characterizing Dryland Surface Hydrological Dynamics Using Ecohydrological Modeling and Geophysical Observations), Franz made over six different trips to central Kenya where he worked closely with the Laikipia Maasai.  It would be the first of many international trips for Franz during his relatively young career.
 
"When I went to Princeton, I worked on various water projects for about five and a half years," said Franz.  "When I finished up there, I moved on to the University of Arizona where I got involved in this neutron technique.  After three years there, we moved on to Lincoln (Nebraska), and we've been here at the University of Nebraska for about seven years."
  
His Area of Research
Franz's interest in water resources has led him to specialize in measuring water contained in soils and using that data to help agricultural producers in the state on Nebraska and scientists in countries around the world more efficiently manage the water resources available to them.
 
More specifically, Franz describes his work this way, "My work is in water, soil and physics.  That is how I would best describe it.  Thinking about how we can use technology to get better observations and measurements and improve our understanding of the water budget and reduce our water use, especially for food consumption and agriculture.
 
"I work with a variety of different entities here in Nebraska, including a number of different water districts in the state, The Nature Conservancy, our natural resource districts and water governing bodies that manage surface water."
 
Work Overseas With the United Nations
Franz's work overseas didn't end with his dissertation research in Kenya.  He has traveled to countries such as Australia, Kuwait and South Africa over the years.  Much of that work stemming from his relationship with the United Nations.
 
"I work a lot with the United Nations," said Franz.  "They have a program -- a food and agricultural organization -- associated with the International Atomic Energy Agency on a joint program on nuclear methods in agriculture.
 
"One of the sensors I work with measures neutrons coming from outer space and reflecting off the Earth's surface.  From those neutron measurements, you can figure out how much water is in the soil.  That is integrated over about a foot depth and a 600-foot circle.  We like to use this sensor for agriculture because it gives us data on larger areas that are easier to manage.
 
"I've taught various classes for different scientists and different governments such as the Australian government, the South African government and the Kuwaiti government.  The U.N. basically hires me to teach classes to other scientists around the world.
 
"I used to travel quite a bit prior to the pandemic.  Last week, I was teaching an online class to scientists from Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador about this technique with our sensor.  I was supposed to go down to teach the class in person in South America, but that obviously got canceled with the Coronavirus.  Prior to the pandemic, I probably took one to two international trips per year depending on the needs of the agency and what projects they have going on around the world."
 
His relationship with the United Nations began at a conference and has continued for several years.
 
"I went to a conference a few years ago and the United Nations had a representative there," said Franz.  "They had a dedicated program on the safe use of nuclear techniques called 'Atoms for Peace'.  This technique that I've helped develop at Arizona and Nebraska fit right into that program.  Working with their scientists, we've developed a number of teaching programs and trainings.  I usually teach a class for a week while I'm there.  Working with individual governments' scientists, we've also worked on technology transfer and research opportunities.  It has been a way to engage local scientists and do education training and provide technology to these countries.
 
"It has been fascinating to travel to these various places around the world, to see the water challenges they are facing and to think about the ways our technology might have an impact on their research and eventually coming up with actual operations of how they use water in their countries."
 
An Academic Life
Currently, Franz is an Associate Professor and Hydrogeophysicist in the University of Nebraska School of Natural Resources.  He spends more of his time conducting research, but Franz does teach a couple classes each year to both undergraduate and graduate students.
 
"I'm definitely more on the research side of things, but as I've gotten more experience teaching and interacting with students that has been really rewarding, especially with students who really want to be there," said Franz.  "The students who are really passionate about water research and related areas -- it is really rewarding to work with them and help them pursue their careers.  I really appreciated the professors who helped me along the way and pushed me into my career and showed me ways that I could get involved as a student and get some experience.
 
"In the fall, I teach a 200-level course, which is mostly sophomores and freshmen.  In the spring, I teach seniors and graduate students in a more advanced hydrology class."
 
Asked if he wants to spend the rest of his career in the academic setting, Franz said, "I think so.  I really enjoy the research side of things and figuring out how we can integrate newer technologies into actual practice for water savings. 
 
"I think there are a lot of opportunities there and it is very rewarding to work on the ground level with agricultural producers and state agencies on how we can design more efficient systems, especially in terms of producing more 'Crop per Drop' is the term you here in our business, also how we can conserve water to provide for other natural systems, thinking about the health of the ecosystem, as well as all the other needs for water in the system.
 
"We have very solvable water challenges here (in the United States), but internationally you get to parts of Africa or the Middle East and they have much higher water stress on their systems.  A lot of underlying problems with society are related to water and conflict, especially in times of drought, so any way we can alleviate stress on the water systems helps strengthen societies and make sure they don't fail or cause larger conflicts."
 
Teammates and Football Memories
When asked about whether he stays in touch with any of his former Cowboy teammates, Franz said he has a couple of teammates he still communicates with on a regular basis.
 
"I talk a lot with Marshall Schaap.  He's back home in Florida," said Franz.  "Maybe once a year, we'll take the family down to the beach and meet up with him.  Chase Johnson lives in York, Neb., and I actually test out a lot of my technology on his farms.  He allows me to come out, set up sensors and ask questions about how agriculture works in Nebraska.  He's been great to work with and gives a farmer's perspective on whether he thinks these technologies are useful or not.  Those are probably the two main guys I keep in close contact with."
 
What are some of his favorite memories from his football experience at Wyoming?
 
"Certainly the Vegas Bowl.  That was a fantastic way to go out -- that whole experience," said Franz.  "I also remember the locker room on a daily basis, talking and bantering back and forth with guys.  Surviving two-a-days and Spring Ball with the guys, that was fun.  Making fun of each other, having a good time during endless film sessions and position meetings.  Those are probably the best memories."
 
Family
Franz's parents, Glenna and John Franz, were dedicated Cowboy fans during his playing career, traveling to almost every Wyoming game.  They had four sons, including Trenton.  Trenton's older brother, Derek, was also a college football player as the starting place-kicker at Colorado State from 1997-98.
 
"My parents are retired and still living in Fort Collins," said Franz.  "I'm sure my dad is watching a lot of sports on TV now that sports are starting to come back.  He is quite the sports fan.  They're enjoying grandkids and retirement.  They still watch Cowboy games on TV, but it's harder for them to get to games now."
 
Franz now has a family of his own.  His wife, Mary, is also a UW graduate and is originally from Gillette, Wyo., where her parents and sister still live. 
 
"Mary and I met at Wyoming," said Franz.  "She moved out to Princeton with me.  We got married after a couple years there.  We had our first daughter, Rosie (now age 10), there my last year of grad school.  Then we moved to Arizona and had Violet (now age 8), and then we moved here to Lincoln and had Owen (now age 5).  I don't think we can move anymore, because every time we move we have another child.  I think we're set here for awhile.  The kids are now 10, 8 and 5, and they're really happy and healthy.  We're blessed to have them.
 
"Mary has her own business.  She does some online, social media stuff, and she also works at the state bar association in their educational development area a couple days a week.  She runs a website called Macaroni Kid here in Lincoln.  She has 5,000 to 6,000 followers now in the city, so she is way more famous than me, which is fine."
 
Now, 16 seasons after his final year playing for the Cowboys, it seems fitting that Franz's journey that began as one of Wyoming Athletics' top students has taken him back to a college campus where he is assisting other students in pursuing their academic dreams.
 

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