Ferris State University has partnered with Barstool Sports to create an endowed scholarship in honor of late alum Cody “Beef” Franke.
Franke unexpectedly passed away last month, leaving behind his family and his passion for golf.
Franke graduated from Ferris State with a bachelor’s in PGA Golf Management in Dec. 2017. After he obtained his bachelor’s, he received a PGA certification, which he utilized to join the professional golf world and teach lessons in Wisconsin and California.
The proposed scholarship will be offered to students in the PGA Golf Management program.
PGA Golf Management Director Joe Hatch reflected on the life of Cody Franke.
“I know Cody. I came so I’m an alumnus of the program myself. So, the way I know Cody is, I came back during his time here as a student and I did two seminars I believe that he attended, so I got to know him a little bit.” Hatch said.
Cody was remembered for his class and adherence to unwritten etiquette, such as standing when a woman enters a room and removing his hat when shaking hands.
Hatch further noted the impact that a scholarship established in Cody’s name would have on the PGM program and honor his legacy while providing financial support for prospective students at Ferris.
“It has a tremendous impact. For one, it honors the legacy for Cody and his family. In perpetuity, this scholarship is now endowed and will be around forever at Ferris,” Hatch said. “So it’ll impact all future students at Ferris and I think it not only helps them with some of the financial burden that they might have as a student attending Ferris State University, but also, could impact in being a North Star for students to look at Cody and his legacy and how they should conduct themselves or treat people. A lot of the things that aren’t a part of our program, but that students learn through the program.”
Students will have the opportunity to apply to the new scholarship on ScholarshipUniverse.
The intention of the scholarship is not only to honor Franke’s image and career in the golf profession, but also to assist future PGM students with their studies.
Hatch explained that Franke’s success may motivate students in the program or bring new ones to Ferris.
“It helps our golf program in a number of ways. I think the first aspect in which it helps is some of the financial burden. The second way that it helps is it gives them another alumni or another story to try to aspire to or to try to be like. The last way that it helps our students is, Cody found himself in a unique position in the golf industry, where he was working for Barstool Sports and a lot of that came from having his own social media following that he gathered. From my understanding that was noticed by Barstool that started the conversation, but it effectively is going to potentially open up another career path for our students.” Hatch said.
Ferris’ PGM program is part of the College of Business at the university, was the first of its kind to be sanctioned and is just one of 18 offered across the country.
Marketing sophomore Logan Locatis explained that the scholarship will assist students with fees that come with university studies.
“I think a lot of students that go through the PGM program get tacked with a lot of fees through it and it’s expensive for students that don’t have financial help. So, I think this could truly help students get through the program a lot easier with less debt, ultimately helping them become a better PGA professional, which is what lives up to what the scholarship is for.” Locatis said.
PGM students are required to take five semesters of internships to complete the degree program.
PGM senior Ethan Lemke echoed Locatis’ statement, noting that scholarships ease the financial burden on students and allow them to focus more on their studies.
“I think whenever students in the PGM get any sort of financial help, it’s much appreciated. Any sort of financial help takes us a very long way on an internship or school or whatever it is and it makes life a lot less stressful. The program itself is already stressful enough and financial support definitely takes that weight off your shoulders. I think any student is very appreciative whenever we get that,” Lemke said. ” It’ll make an impact by making it a lot more feasible for students to think that their dreams are possible. I think it’ll make it a lot more reasonable in their brain to say, hey, this is doable. I can travel the world if I get this, or I can complete this program if I get this. Or I could really take my dreams and my aspirations to the next step.”
Lemke further stated that the scholarship will bring excitement to the program and provide students with another goal to reach.
At the time this article was written, the Torch was unable to contact Franke’s family. The Torch will continue to follow Franke’s story and update this article with a family statement if made available.
Donations can be made to the scholarship fund online.