As AD and Swim Coach, Franklin College’s Andrew Hendricks Draws National Recognition
Andrew Hendricks knew his situation was unique before the online form confirmed it, but the coding snafu provided a fitting reminder.
The head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams at Franklin College, a Division III school in Indiana, Hendricks was filling out the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America’s form for scholastic All-America submissions. But when he hit send, the form kept returning an error.
After a little troubleshooting, Hendricks ferreted out the problem: The CSCAA form read the same contact information entered in the fields for both swim coach and athletic director as an error. The system wasn’t equipped for a situation where the same person held both jobs.
Yet Hendricks has filled both roles, as swim coach since 2008-09 before assuming the AD role in May 2020. As if shepherding a squad of swimmers through a college season isn’t enough, he’s done so the last two years while managing 19 other varsity sports and an athlete population of more than 400.
“It’s the same challenges in many regards,” Hendricks said recently. “There’s never enough time in a day. There’s hardly enough time in the day to be a swim coach. I think most swim coaches that are good at what they do eat, breathe and sleep swimming.”
Andrew Hendricks; Photo Courtesy: Franklin College Athletics
That challenge is one of the reasons why Hendricks is one of three finalists for the CSCAA’s 2022 National Collegiate Scholastic Trophy, alongside NC State’s Braden Holloway and Nicholas Askew of Howard University.
Hendricks’ Grizzlies consistently punch above their weight, for a private liberal arts college of just 1,000 undergrads, but aren’t exactly a national powerhouse. He was surprised when CSCAA named him a finalist, news he reacted to with a feeling of “humility.”
“It’s really great to be in the same sentence as those other coaches,” he said. “And I’m not sure if I belong there but I appreciate it nonetheless.”
Hendricks’ journey to Franklin has been unorthodox at many turns. A lifelong swimmer, competing from age group up to Masters and in triathlons, he received his degree in mathematics from Indiana University, having swum at youth camps run by coaching legend James “Doc” Councilman.
Coaching wasn’t necessarily in Hendricks’ plans, as he voyaged into corporate America as a director of a Fortune 500 company after receiving his MBA from Indiana Wesleyan. “I always tell people, I didn’t find this job; this job found me,” he says.
The return into the swimming orbit came around the 2000 Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. Hendricks lived in Franklin and worked as a director of sales and marketing for the Hoosier Lottery, which partnered with Trials sponsor, Indiana Sports Corp. When he was handed a stack of tickets to distribute to young swimmers, he connected with coaches around Franklin, including longtime club coach Kurt Haas.
When, a few years later, swimmers at Franklin College wanted to start a varsity team and sought someone with the knowhow to found it, they reached back out to Hendricks.
With $1,500 and a contract to teach math as an adjunct professor – and after some initial reluctance –Hendricks launched the program in 2008. He’s been there ever since, with Haas as his assistant coach and a spot on the board of Franklin Regional Swim Team, where Hendricks’ three daughters swim.
In Feb. 2020, he became a vice president for enrollment. He was elevated to director of athletics ahead of the following academic year.
Starting that job during a global pandemic has been challenging, to say the least. The rapid pace of change in regulations and requirements of travel, testing and logistics has multiplied the minutiae Hendricks’ department handles, at the expense of big-picture, strategic planning.
“Your time is just absorbed by COVID, time you would’ve been devoting to athletes,” he said.
On the pool deck, Hendricks has sustained success. The women’s team has won the Heartland College Athletic Conference Invitational on eight occasions, with the men winning the HCAC in 2019-20. The men’s squad is also a four-time NCAA Division III Liberal Arts Champion. The school has hosted the NCAA Division III championships on three occasions (2012, 2014, 2018) as well as this year’s and again in 2026.
Andrew Hendricks has used his business acumen to fast-track the creation of a strong culture at Franklin. Having 25 alumni return for a recent senior recognition meet, for instance, is notable given the program’s youth. As a small Division III school, the Grizzlies have to land athletes with certain priorities in balancing academics and athletics and certain talent levels, with Hendricks’ staff taking the challenge of coaching them up over the four years. As they’ve gotten more established, the talent they can attract has improved, but the mission of stead improvement hasn’t changed.
“We take good swimmers and we have to make them great,” Hendricks said. “You have to be a great coach because you have no other choice than failure, and most people don’t want to fail. So you refine your coaching skills because you want them to succeed.”
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