Jennie Salmon’s ‘can do it’ approach made her the only choice for Temple women’s fencing

Dr. Nikki Franke gave Temple’s athletic director Arthur Johnson a sealed envelope with a written note of whom she wanted to be named as her successor. She told him not to open it until she was sure she was ready.

Franke started the Temple fencing program in 1972, becoming the first Black woman to coach an NCAA Division I fencing team. Her life’s work coaching at Temple for the last 50 years wasn’t easy to walk away from.

“One day she came to see me and I tried to avoid the meeting,” Johnson said at Franke’s retirement press conference. “She just said, ‘It’s time.’”

» READ MORE: Title IX: Temple fencing coach Nikki Franke is as inspiring as ever

Jennie Salmon was revealed as the name in the envelope, becoming just the second coach in program history as she was introduced Tuesday morning in the Fox-Gittis room of the Liacouras Center.

Salmon served as Brandeis’ men’s and women’s fencing coach for the last four years. She is also a Temple alumna (Class of 1995), having competed for Franke as a member of the 1992 NCAA championship team.

“Arthur was right about the envelope; every time I saw him, he’d go, ‘I didn’t open it yet!’” Franke said. “He gave me that freedom to feel comfortable knowing that I was going to leave this team in good hands … It’s hard to leave what you love doing, but it’s much easier knowing you’re doing it in good hands.”

During Franke’s 50-year tenure, she amassed 898 wins and her team was perennially ranked in the Top 10 in the nation. She steered the program to 26 straight National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association championships.

Under her leadership, 37 Temple fencers have earned 66 NCAA selections with 25 of those garnering 35 All-America honors. The Owls have also had a winning record in 48 of her 50 years, including 18 20-plus winning seasons.

“She’s iconic. She’s caring. She’s humble,” Johnson said. “But one word, and sometimes it gets used too much, she is truly a GOAT (Greatest of All Time).”

Franke left big shoes for Salmon to fill.

“People have been saying if [I coach for 50 years] I will definitely be a legend because I’ll be 100 years old,” Salmon joked.

“The good thing about Temple is, it’s not broken. I don’t have to fix anything,” Salmon said. “I’m coming into a culture … For me, it’s really just giving them the time and grace to get to know me. There will be some differences but it will feel very similar as we start to collaborate together just continuing to have the expectations that have always been there for Temple fencing.”

Before being hired at Brandeis in 2018, she spent 22 years as a high school and club fencing coach. She also gained experience with USA Fencing. In 2001, she co-founded the Mission Fencing Center in Rock Point, N.Y., with her husband Jeff.

“I’ve known Jennie since she was 17 years old when I first recruited her,” Franke said. “Her interactions with her fencers reflect the outstanding team culture that she creates. She’s a caring, giving, and passionate person that loves fencing and loves, most importantly, her fencers.”

Salmon shared one story from her playing days that helped shape her career.

Her Temple team had taken a beating from Penn State twice during the 1992 regular season and matched up with the Nittany Lions again for the national championship.

The Owls hit the ground running, taking an early lead. But the favored Nittany Lions clawed their way back. Salmon remembers there were two bouts left in foil — the only weapon women competed in at the time — and they needed to win both.

“I had that second-to-last bout and I remember all the nerves and pressure, thinking about what that meant. And there was this voice,” Salmon said, holding back tears. “I know no one else could hear it. Nikki was so poised, sitting quietly watching all of this unravel.

“She said, ‘Jennie, you can do it.’ That’s it. Everything melted away.”

Temple’s new coach acknowledged she holds that moment close to her heart. It largely shaped her as a coach.

Salmon then focused her attention on the Temple fencers she’s inherited and looked at them as they sat in the front row and said, “Team, we can do it.”