It’s early August 2025. Bradley Franklin is at the USA Track & Field Championship semifinals, walking up to the start line, smelling the rubber track.
He breathes the same air as a world record holder and a two-time Olympic medalist and a Texas A&M school record holder, among other decorated hurdlers who are at the line or watching from the side. There is an open lane in front of him filled with 10 hurdles ready to be cleared. A slight murmur echoes from the crowd in the stands.
He plays out the race in his head. He sees himself exploding out of the blocks and performing flawlessly. He tells himself to do exactly what he envisions. He hears his name announced: Bradley Franklin of Samford University.
After jumping a few times and punching the air — an ode to the “Creed” movies — Franklin sets himself in his blocks. He hears the starting pistol pop.
Within 13.56 seconds, he is 15th in the nation in the 110-meter hurdles. Franklin also leaves the meet holding the Samford school record for the event.
Franklin first discovered his talent for hurdling when he was a freshman in high school. His coach recognized his tall build and believed the event would be a perfect fit. He started on junior varsity, but quickly moved to the varsity team within his first season.
By the end of his high school career, he had won four state championship titles and was ranked No. 1 in the country for 110-meter hurdles and No. 3 in the country for 60-meter hurdles by the time he graduated.
Franklin was talented from the beginning, but as he progressed, it became more apparent that he could pursue hurdling beyond the high school level. After graduating, Franklin continued his athletic journey at Samford.
During his first year at Samford in 2024-25, Franklin broke two school records, won two Southern Conference Championships, qualified for both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Track Championships and competed at the USA Track and Field Championships, as well as earned other titles and championships along the way.
Samford’s track and field program continues to excel in all areas, but with an athlete of Franklin’s caliber, one naturally begs the question: Why Samford?
Franklin chose Samford because he values his family’s encouragement and appreciates his parents’ advice. The university’s proximity to his brother, a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also influenced his decision.
While Samford recruited Franklin for the track team, he noticed the game design and 3D animation program, which helped him make his college decision. In addition to his athletic talent, Franklin is artistically inclined and enjoys drawing.
Franklin wants to make others feel something through his work and entertain them, just as games do for him. He does just that through the game design and 3D animation program.
Alongside his major, he also appreciates Samford’s high caliber community, especially within the track and field team.
“My philosophy as an athlete is that it’s not some big Power Five school that’s going to take me to where I need to be, it’s the people that are there and the things that the people want to achieve,” said Franklin.
Franklin is exceedingly thankful for the community that Samford provides and for being in close proximity to his family. He says that he runs for God first, but also for his family — including his half-siblings and extended family — as well as his Samford and high school coaches and teammates. He says that he especially runs for his friends outside of track and field.
“I love and cherish [them] as if they were my family. Even though they may not know the intricacies of what happens, they still encourage me and congratulate me all the same, and they are the ones that encourage me the most because I talk to them the most on campus,” he said.
Franklin wants to be remembered as someone who did what he wanted to, despite all the other things going on in his life. He wants to be someone who, while being a collegiate athlete, still has many other interesting aspects of his life outside of athletics, such as animation or music. He offers advice to other athletes about the importance of having multiple interests.
“You do not have to focus 100% of your life on athletics,” Frankling said. “You can be all kinds of things and still be an athlete and still be a successful person.”
