Don James (American football)

Don James
Sport(s)	Football
Biographical details
Born	December 31, 1932 (1932-12-31) (age 78)
Place of birth	Massillon, Ohio
Playing career
1951–1953	Miami (FL)
Position(s)	Quarterback, defensive back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1956–1957 1958 1959–1961 1962–1965 1966–1967 1968–1970 1971–1974 1975–1992	Kansas (GA) Southwest Miami HS (FL) Florida State (DB) Florida State (DC) Michigan (DC) Colorado (DC) Kent State Washington
Head coaching record
Overall	178–76–2 (college)
Bowls	10–5
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 National (1991)[1] 1 MAC (1972) 6 Pac-8/Pac-10 (1977, 1980–1981, 1990–1992)
Awards
AFCA Coach of the Year (1977) Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (1991) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year (1991) George Munger Award (1991) Sporting News College Football COY (1991) MAC Coach of the Year (1972) 3x Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1980, 1990–1991)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1997 (profile)

Don James (born December 31, 1932) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Kent State University from 1971 to 1974 and at the University of Washington from 1975 to 1992, compiling a career college football record of 178–76–2. His 1991 Washington team won a share of the national championship after completing a 12–0 season with a win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. James was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1997.

Playing and early coaching career

As a quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes, James set five school passing records. He then received a master's degree in education from the University of Kansas, where he was a graduate assistant for the Jayhawks. James coached high school football at Southwest Miami High School in 1959, then was a college assistant coach for 12 seasons at Florida State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Head coaching career

In 1971, James became the head coach at Kent State University, where he compiled a 25–19 record (.568) in four years. There he coached future NFL great Jack Lambert and current college head coaches Nick Saban of Alabama and Gary Pinkel of Missouri. During his tenure at Kent, the Golden Flashes won their only Mid-American Conference title, in 1972, and played in their only bowl game, the 1972 Tangerine Bowl.^[2]

In December 1974, Don James was hired by University of Washington athletic director Joseph Kearney to succeed Jim Owens as head coach. James served in this capacity for 18 seasons, from 1975 to 1992. He led the Huskies to a national championship in 1991, shared with Miami. James' teams won four Rose Bowls, the Orange Bowl in January 1985, and compiled a record of 10–5 in all bowl games. Overall, James tallied a 153–57–2 mark for a winning percentage of .726 at Washington,^[3] including a then-record 98 wins in Pacific-10 Conference play. Washington won 22 consecutive games from 1990 to 1992.^[4]

James resigned from his head coaching position on August 22, 1993 in protest of what he considered unfair sanctions against his team from the NCAA and Pac-10 Conference.^[5][6]

James won national college coach of the year honors in 1977, 1984, and 1991. In 1997, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches#	AP°
Kent State Golden Flashes (Mid-American Conference) (1971–1974)
1971	Kent State	3–8	0–5	6th
1972	Kent State	6–5–1	4–1	1st	L Tangerine
1973	Kent State	9–2	4–1	2nd
1974	Kent State	7–4	2–3	T–4th
Kent State:		25–19–1	10–10
Washington Huskies (Pacific-8/Pacific-10 Conference) (1975–1992)
1975	Washington	6–5	5–2	T–3rd
1976	Washington	5–6	3–4	T–4th
1977	Washington	10–2	7–0	1st	W Rose	9	10
1978	Washington	7–4	6–2	T–2nd
1979	Washington	10–2	6–1	2nd	W Sun	11	11
1980	Washington	9–3	6–1	1st	L Rose	17	16
1981	Washington	10–2	6–2	1st	W Rose	7	10
1982	Washington	10–2	6–2	2nd	W Aloha	7	7
1983	Washington	8–4	5–2	2nd	L Aloha
1984	Washington	11–1	6–1	2nd	W Orange	2	2
1985	Washington	7–5	5–3	T–4th	W Freedom
1986	Washington	8–3–1	5–2–1	T–2nd	L Sun	17	18
1987	Washington	7–4–1	4–3–1	T–2nd	W Independence
1988	Washington	6–5	3–5	T–6th
1989	Washington	8–4	5–3	T–2nd	W Freedom	20	23
1990	Washington	10–2	7–1	1st	W Rose	5	5
1991	Washington	12–0	8–0	1st	W Rose	1	2
1992	Washington	9–3	6–2	T-1st	L Rose	10	11
Washington:		153–57–2	98–37–2
Total:		178–76–3
National Championship         Conference Title         Conference Division Title
#Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll.

See also

• List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association
• Legends Poll

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Kent State Game by Game Results
3. ^ Washington Coaching Records
4. ^ Washington Game by Game Results
5. ^ Scout.com: Print This Story
6. ^ Seattle Times Print This Story

External links

• Washington profile
• Don James at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Don James at the College Football Data Warehouse

Persondata
Name	James, Don
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 31, 1932
Place of birth	Massillon, Ohio
Date of death
Place of death