Dr. Michael Farris Reflects on Dr. Frank Guliuzza

February 26, 2019

Frank Guliuzza has gone to glory. A day of great sadness for his family and the many friends who also loved him. A day of great joy for him.

Frank and I met in Texas at the second ever American Collegiate Moot Court Association national tournament in 2002. He coached the Weber State University team. I coached Patrick Henry College.

Immediately, he let me know that he was also a believer in Christ and a fast friendship was born in an instant. We worked as friends, colleagues, and competitors until 2008 when he applied for an opening at PHC. We joined together as co-coaches in moot court and we did okay.

Before Frank came, PHC had won two national championships. After we began to work together, we won eight more national championships in nine years. After I left to lead Alliance Defending Freedom, he coached PHC to two more national championships. 

Frank didn’t coach just to win. Oh, he wanted to win and he made the teams work very, very hard. But Frank coached to build into the lives of young people. He went far beyond the classroom or the courtroom and invested deeply in the lives of his students. And they loved him. It was easy for them to do so because it was so readily apparent that he loved them first.

And that love was not limited to Patrick Henry College. Students from other colleges and coaches from other schools loved Frank Guliuzza because his generous spirit and genuine concern embraced all in his path.

We know that Frank was a father and husband. We got to see his extraordinary heart as he cared for his very special son, Matthew.

We wept with Frank when he lost his first wife, Kathy. And we rejoiced with Frank when he remarried Ann and saw his great delight in her love and companionship.

Frank loved his country. He loved the Constitution. He loved truth. And yeah, he loved Coke Zero. But the reality is that he loved. And his love was more than an emotional kindness, he loved with sacrificial service for the highest and best of many, many people.

All of this love was a great reflection of his deep, abiding, and genuine love for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Frank loved us to the full because he knew that Christ loved him even more.

Frank was born on February 2, 1957, in Ohio and spent much of his younger years in Wyoming. He graduated from the University of Wyoming and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Constitutional Philosophy from Notre Dame.

He was a stalwart in Utah conservative politics and once ran for the United States Senate.

He served in countless leadership roles including the national presidency for both the national association of pre-law advisors, and the American Collegiate Moot Court Association.

But these organizational leadership positions are proof of more than his tremendous and effective leadership skills. It is proof that he loved many and was loved by many.

I was once discouraged about the political situation in our country. Frank told me that it couldn’t possibly be as bad as I thought. God had given the two of us the chance to invest in the lives of countless young people and it was simply impossible that God would give us this task if He did not also give us hope for the future.

Today, I am very sad because Frank is gone. But I walk in hope because the truth of Frank’s message and his life lives large in my heart and will never be forgotten.

Frank Guliuzza was a giant of a man.