Named the 39th coach in Franklin & Marshall Football history on March 22, 2006, John Troxell enters his 16th year on the sidelines as the leader of the Diplomats football program in the fall of 2021. Coach Troxell has brought energy and enthusiasm back to the Diplomat football program with his ability to motivate, teach and recruit at the highest level. He has built his program on character, integrity, and a family atmosphere with an unyielding commitment to excellence and winning. Having previously been part of three of college football’s biggest program turnarounds (Columbia, Muhlenberg, and Lafayette) he has done it again at F&M. Troxell has amassed 86 victories throughout his time in Lancaster, placing him second on the all-time wins list. He has also coached 103 All-Conference players since 2006.
Troxell has guided F&M to a postseason game in 8 of the last 11 seasons. Before taking over the program, F&M had one winning season in the previous 10 years. Troxell led the squad to back-to-back ECAC bowl games and winning seasons in 2009 and 2010, marking the first consecutive winning seasons at F&M since 1995 and 1996. In 2012 and 2013 he led his Diplomats to back-to-back ECAC Bowl Games for the second time. Along the way in 2012 his Diplomats upset then No. 9 Johns Hopkins. In 2013 his team beat Delaware Valley College to win the ECAC Southeast Bowl Championship. From 2016-19 Troxell has led F&M to a CC-MAC Bowl game appearance in each season. The Diplomats have won three of those contests, including wins over Widener in 2017, Lycoming in 2018, and Misericordia in 2019.
The 2017 season was one for the ages as Troxell guided the Diplomats to a 10-1 record - marking just the second time in school history that an F&M team accomplished a feat of double-digit wins. The Diplomats won a Centennial Conference Championship and CC-MAC Bowl Championship as Troxell was named Centennial Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in his career following the 2017 season. Fifteen of his players earned All-Conference recognition, the most players recognized in school history and Joe Granahan was named Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2009, Coach Troxell guided the Diplomats to a 9-2 season that was capped by an ECAC South Atlantic Championship victory, one of eight seasons in F&M history where a team recorded nine or more wins. Troxell was named the Centennial Conference's Coach of the Year and was one of five national finalists for the highly coveted Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award after the 2009 season.
Under his guidance, F&M athletes have produced record-breaking performances. Several Centennial Conference (CC) marks have fallen from quarterbacks John Harrison (first in completed passes with 856, touchdown passes with 87 and most games gaining 400+ yards with three) and E.J. Schneider (first in most games gaining 300+ yards with 14 and most yards in a season with 3,379). Also finding their names at the top of many CC lists are receiver Jordan Zackery, who is first in the CC in career receptions by a receiver (262) and tailback John Kaschak, who is first in career catches by a running back (143) and receiving yards (1,127). On the defensive side, Joe Granahan set the conference record for sacks in a career with 36 career sacks.
F&M records were also reset during Coach Troxell’s time on the sidelines with John Harrison placing first in completions, touchdown passes, completion percentage and passing yards, while Jordan Zackery is first in receptions and all-purpose yards. Brian Velasco set the school record for unassisted tackles in a career with 173.
Troxell took the reins of the Diplomats following five seasons (2001-05) as an assistant coach at Lafayette during which he served as running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and special teams coach for the 2004 and 2005 Patriot League Champion Leopards.
During his tenure, he mentored 2004 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Joe McCourt '05 to a record-setting career. Under Troxell's tutelage, McCourt, the 2001 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, concluded his career as Lafayette's and the Patriot League's all-time leader with 50 rushing touchdowns and was second on the school's all-time rushing list with 4,474 yards while earning All-America honors in 2002 and 2004. Before the 2003 season, Troxell was named the Leopards’ recruiting coordinator. His efforts in recruiting helped Lafayette win three straight Patriot League Titles from 2004-2006.
Troxell joined the Lafayette staff after serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Muhlenberg College from 1997-2000. He served as special teams coordinator (1997-99), quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach (1997-2000) and offensive coordinator (2000) at Muhlenberg as the Mules went from a 1-9 season in 1997 to the Eastern College Athletic Conference title with a record of 9-2 in 2000. In 2000, his offense ranked 22nd in the nation and led the Centennial Conference in total offense (427.8 yards per game) while averaging 31.0 points per game.
In his first three seasons at Muhlenberg, Coach Troxell coordinated the Mules' special teams. Under his guidance, Muhlenberg led the nation in kickoff returns. Josh Carter was the Football Gazette specialist of the year under Troxell's tutelage. John also coached the quarterbacks and receivers all four seasons, including Muhlenberg's all-time leading passer and Carter, the program's first Centennial Conference player of the year.
Troxell joined the Muhlenberg staff after serving as an assistant coach for three seasons at Columbia University. He assisted with the Lions' defensive backs from 1994-96, helping them record the third-best pass defense in Division I-AA in 1996. He helped turn Columbia football around. In 1994 Columbia had their first winning season since 1971. Then in 1996, the team posted an 8-2 record to finish second in the Ivy League, its best finish since winning the league in 1961. The assistant recruiting coordinator his final two seasons at Columbia, Coach Troxell was elevated to running backs coach in the spring of 1997.
A 1994 Lafayette graduate with a B.A. in government and law, Troxell was the starting free safety on the Leopards' 1992 Patriot League Championship team and received the program's Unsung Hero Award as a senior. He went on to earn an M.A. in Sociology and Education from Columbia in 1997.
A native of Phillipsburg, N.J., Troxell and his wife, Pamela, have two daughters: Summer and Capri.
Troxell's Coaching Highlights
- 39th Coach in Franklin & Marshall's Football History
- 2nd in All-Time Wins at Franklin & Marshall College
- 2009 and 2017 Centennial Conference Coach of the Year
- 2009 Finalist for Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year
- 8 Post-Season Games in the last 11 seasons
- 2017 Centennial Conference Champions
- 2019, 2018, and 2017 CC – MAC Bowl Champions
- 2009 and 2013 ECAC Bowl Champions
- Coached 103 All-Centennial Conference Football Players since 2006
- 2018 - Highest ranking in school history (AFCA Coaches Poll #21)
- 2017-2018 - 18 wins is the most wins in any two year period in school history
- 2017 - 10-1 record is only the 2nd time in 130 years with 10 wins
- 2010 - Back-To-Back Winning Seasons for first time in 14 years
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