Don James
Encyclopedia
Don James 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.
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
.
, 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
.
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, including a then-record 98 wins in Pacific-10 Conference play. Washington won 22 consecutive games from 1990 to 1992.
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.
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
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach. He served as the head coach at Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
from 1971 to 1974 and at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
from 1975 to 1992, compiling a career college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
record of 178–76–2. His 1991 Washington team
1991 Washington Huskies football team
The 1991 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 1991 college football season. Head coach Don James was assisted by coordinators Keith Gilbertson and Jim Lambright , both head coaches themselves within two years.The 1991 team was arguably the finest team in...
won a share of the national championship
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
after completing a 12–0 season with a win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl
1992 Rose Bowl
The 1992 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1992, the 78th Rose Bowl game. Before 103,566 in attendance in Pasadena and a national television audience, the #2 Washington Huskies defeated the #4 Michigan Wolverines 34-14. Washington DT Steve Emtman and QB Billy Joe...
. James was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
as a coach in 1997.
Playing and early coaching career
As a quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
, James set five school passing records. He then received a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in education from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, where he was a graduate assistant for the Jayhawks
Kansas Jayhawks football
The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....
. James coached high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at Southwest Miami High School in 1959, then was a college assistant coach for 12 seasons at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, the University of Michigan, and the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
.
Head coaching career
In 1971, James became the head coach at Kent State UniversityKent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
, where he compiled a 25–19 record (.568) in four years. There he coached future NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
great Jack Lambert and current college head coaches Nick Saban
Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou "Nick" Saban is the head coach of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team. Saban has previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other NCAA universities: LSU, Michigan State and Toledo...
of Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
and Gary Pinkel
Gary Pinkel
Gary Robin Pinkel is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Missouri, a position he has held since the 2001 season. From 1991 to 2000, Pinkel coached at the University of Toledo, where his team won a Mid-American Conference...
of Missouri
Missouri Tigers football
The Missouri Tigers football team represents the University of Missouri in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team has competed in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996...
. During his tenure at Kent, the Golden Flashes
Kent State Golden Flashes football
The Kent State Golden Flashes football team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, USA. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference East division, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Football Bowl Subdivision...
won their only Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
title, in 1972, and played in their only bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
, the 1972 Tangerine Bowl
Capital One Bowl
The Capital One Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl, and previously known as the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl...
.
In December 1974, Don James was hired by University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
Joseph Kearney
Joseph Kearney
Dr. Joseph L. “Joe” Kearney was a renowned coach and sports administrator in university athletics.-Life and work:...
to succeed Jim Owens
Jim Owens
-External links:...
as head coach. James served in this capacity for 18 seasons, from 1975 to 1992. He led the Huskies
Washington Huskies football
College football has a long history at the University of Washington. The Washington Huskies have won 15 Pacific-10 Conference championships, seven Rose Bowl titles, and three national championships. Washington's all-time record of 653-398-50 ranks 20th by all-time winning percentage and 21st by...
to a national championship
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
in 1991, shared with Miami
1991 Miami Hurricanes football team
The 1991 Miami Hurricanes were the national champions of the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season, as determined by the AP Poll. 1991 was a split championship year, though, as the Washington Huskies finished #1 in the Coaches' Poll...
. James' teams won four Rose Bowls
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
, the Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935 and celebrated its 75th playing on January 1, 2009...
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, including a then-record 98 wins in Pacific-10 Conference play. Washington won 22 consecutive games from 1990 to 1992.
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
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
and Pac-10 Conference.
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
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.