A member of one of Kansas' great athletic families, Lowell Alexander Francis was one of the most decorated track and field coaches in the country during his 34 years as the cross country and track and field coach at Fort Hays State (KS) University. Francis' teams won 14 conference championships, finished second another 14 times and, during one 14-year stretch, won 33 consecutive dual meets in track and field. Francis' cross country teams won four NAIA national championships and finished as the runnerup another four times. He was an assistant coach on the 1967 United States Pan-American Games team and coached the distance runners on the 1968 U.S. Olympic team. Francis was the first president of the NAIA Track and Field Coaches Association and helped coach 139 All-Americans at Fort Hays State. The track facility at Lewis Field in Hays was named after Francis in 1993. He was inducted into the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame in 1963 and the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 1977. His brothers, Sam and Vike, were standout high school athletes and football players for the University of Nebraska. Sam was also a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic team