WUKY SportsPage Episode 51: Former UK football coach Fran Curci
Fran Curci was the head football coach at Kentucky from 1973-81. His nine-season run stood alone as the longest tenure for a Wildcat football coach until it was matched by Mark Stoops in 2021. Curci’s 1976 team won the Peach Bowl, and his 1977 team went 10-1, including a 6-0 mark in SEC play. In this conversation, he talks about his decision to come to UK after getting input from some very well-known coaches (Notre Dame’s Ara Parseghian had some reservations). He also covers the high and low points of his time at UK, as well as his playing days when he was an All-American quarterback at Miami and a pro with Coach Hank Stram’s Dallas Texans in the American Football League.
Keith Elkins has an extensive background in broadcasting and public relations. He retired in 2017 after nine years as director of broadcasting and media relations for the Lexington Legends. He was the radio play-by-play announcer for the Legends, who played a 140-game schedule in the South Atlantic League as a class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. For 15 seasons, he was heard on halftime and postgame shows as the studio anchor on University of Kentucky basketball broadcasts on the UK sports network.Keith is a former television sports anchor and reporter with WLEX-TV in Lexington. Later, as a member of the University of Kentucky public relations staff, he produced and narrated many television features and promotional announcements on behalf of the university. Keith also has served as director of public relations at Transylvania University and worked in marketing communications with Wyncom, Inc. of Lexington. He returned to UK as director of communications in the UK College of Engineering, and was the editor of the College of Engineering alumni magazine, Quadrangle. He has served as host of the WUKY Sports Page podcast since 2019.Keith is a native of Bedford, Indiana, a graduate of the University of Kentucky and a longtime Lexington resident. He has two adult sons and two grandsons.