Jim Kehoe
Encyclopedia
James Henry Kehoe, Jr. was an American athletics coach and university administrator. He served as the athletic director
at the University of Maryland
from 1969 to 1978, during which time he was responsible for the hiring of future Hall of Fame coaches Lefty Driesell
, Jerry Claiborne
, Bud Beardmore
, and Chris Weller
.
in 1936 and competed in track and field, in which he exceled as a middle-distance runner. He set school records in the two-mile run
and 880-yard run. He graduated from Maryland in 1940.
After college, Kehoe joined the United States Army
and served in the Pacific
during World War II
.
and Atlantic Coast Conference
.
In 1969, Kehoe resigned from his coaching positions to take over as the university's athletic director
with the task of turning around the struggling football and basketball programs. In his sixth week on the job, Kehoe hired Lefty Driesell
as the new basketball coach, and said it was "a new era in athletics at the University of Maryland... top drawer, all the way and nothing less." Driesell, after he had promised to make Maryland the "UCLA
of the East", helped form the basketball program into a perennial NCAA tournament
contender.
In his first year, he also fired the head football coach, former Maryland star Bob Ward who was embroiled in a player revolt and had compiled a 2–17 record over two years. Kehoe took an unorthodox approach by hiring Roy Lester
, a highly successful area high school coach, as Ward's replacement. The plan did not work, however, and after three years and a 7–25 record, Kehoe fired Lester as well. He stated his plans to make Maryland a "nationally ranked caliber team" and that the perennial losing and low attendance would make the athletic department unsustainable. Kehoe appointed Jerry Claiborne
as Lester's successor, who reversed the team's fortunes and won three consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference
championships in the 1970s.
Kehoe also brought successful non-revenue coaches to Maryland. In men's lacrosse, he hired Bud Beardmore, who won the 1973
and 1975 NCAA tournament
championships. He also hired Chris Weller
as the first Maryland women's basketball
coach. Driesell, Claiborne, Beardmore, and Weller have all been inducted into their respective sports Halls of Fame.
With the help of his college track teammate Tom Fields as head fundraiser, Kehoe made the Maryland athletic program financially successful as well. Throughout his nine-year tenure, the athletic department recorded a profit each year, primarily through alumni donors and increased attendance rates.
As Title IX
was being debated, Kehoe resisted expansion of the women's athletic programs, arguing that they do not generate any income to support themselves.
Kehoe resigned in 1978 after disagreements with university chancellor Robert Gluckstern. He then took a temporary athletic department post at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. He briefly returned to the Maryland post as interim athletic director in 1980 before retiring in 1981. In 1989, he was hired as a special consultant to the athletic department of Mount St. Mary's University, a position in which he remained for one year.
. In 1986, Kehoe was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame
. In 1998, he was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
Hall of Fame. The Kehoe Track and Field Complex
at the University of Maryland is named in his honor. Kehoe died of cardiovascular disease
on January 17, 2010 at the Burnett-Calvert Hospice House in Prince Frederick, Maryland
.
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...
at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
from 1969 to 1978, during which time he was responsible for the hiring of future Hall of Fame coaches Lefty Driesell
Lefty Driesell
Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, Davidson College, James Madison University, and Georgia State University. During his 41-year coaching career, Driesell led teams from each school to the NCAA...
, Jerry Claiborne
Jerry Claiborne
Jerry Claiborne was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Tech , the University of Maryland, College Park , and his alma mater, the University of Kentucky , compiling a career college football record of 179–122–8...
, Bud Beardmore
Bud Beardmore
Clayton A. "Bud" Beardmore is a former American lacrosse coach. As head coach at the University of Maryland, Beardmore led the Terrapins to two NCAA tournament championships in 1973 and 1975...
, and Chris Weller
Chris Weller
Chris Weller is a former University of Maryland, College Park women's basketball coach from 1975-2002.She led the Lady Terps to 2 NCAA and 1 AIAW Final Four appearances. She also attended the University of Maryland graduating in 1966. Weller retired with 499 wins in 27 seasons as the Lady Terps...
.
Early life and military service
Kehoe was born on June 3, 1918 in Bel Air, Maryland. In high school, he was a state champion runner. Kehoe enrolled at the University of MarylandUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
in 1936 and competed in track and field, in which he exceled as a middle-distance runner. He set school records in the two-mile run
Two miles
The 2 mile is a historic running distance. Like the mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets, perhaps because it provides an easier record to break for meet promoters , as well as its historical chronology. It is largely superseded by the 3000 m and 5000 m, and by the 3200m in...
and 880-yard run. He graduated from Maryland in 1940.
After college, Kehoe joined the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and served in the Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Professional career
After the war, he returned to the University of Maryland as its track and cross country coach in 1946. During his tenure, he built the programs into a national powerhouse and won multiple conference championships. When he retired from coaching, his track teams had a 27-meet winning streak and his cross country teams a 29-meet streak. Kehoe's teams had captured 48 cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track championships in the Southern ConferenceSouthern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
and Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
.
In 1969, Kehoe resigned from his coaching positions to take over as the university's 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...
with the task of turning around the struggling football and basketball programs. In his sixth week on the job, Kehoe hired Lefty Driesell
Lefty Driesell
Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Maryland, Davidson College, James Madison University, and Georgia State University. During his 41-year coaching career, Driesell led teams from each school to the NCAA...
as the new basketball coach, and said it was "a new era in athletics at the University of Maryland... top drawer, all the way and nothing less." Driesell, after he had promised to make Maryland the "UCLA
UCLA Bruins men's basketball
The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, established in 1920, owns a record 11 Division I NCAA championships. UCLA teams coached by John Wooden won 10 national titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record 4 times, in 1964, 1967,...
of the East", helped form the basketball program into a perennial NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
contender.
In his first year, he also fired the head football coach, former Maryland star Bob Ward who was embroiled in a player revolt and had compiled a 2–17 record over two years. Kehoe took an unorthodox approach by hiring Roy Lester
Roy Lester
E. Roy Lester is an American former college and high school football coach. After a successful career at the high school level, he served as the head coach of the University of Maryland football team from 1969 to 1971. Lester was the school's fourth head coach in five years, and compiled a 7–25...
, a highly successful area high school coach, as Ward's replacement. The plan did not work, however, and after three years and a 7–25 record, Kehoe fired Lester as well. He stated his plans to make Maryland a "nationally ranked caliber team" and that the perennial losing and low attendance would make the athletic department unsustainable. Kehoe appointed Jerry Claiborne
Jerry Claiborne
Jerry Claiborne was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Tech , the University of Maryland, College Park , and his alma mater, the University of Kentucky , compiling a career college football record of 179–122–8...
as Lester's successor, who reversed the team's fortunes and won three consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
championships in the 1970s.
Kehoe also brought successful non-revenue coaches to Maryland. In men's lacrosse, he hired Bud Beardmore, who won the 1973
1973 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1973 NCAA Division I tournament championship game was played at Franklin Field in Philadelphia in front of 5,965 fans. The undefeated Maryland Terrapins, led by coach Bud Beardmore and Hall of Fame midfielder Frank Urso defeated Johns Hopkins 10 to 9 in two overtimes, with Urso scoring the...
and 1975 NCAA tournament
1975 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1975 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship was the fifth annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Eight NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met in the postseason single-elimination tournament to decide the national championship.The championship game was...
championships. He also hired Chris Weller
Chris Weller
Chris Weller is a former University of Maryland, College Park women's basketball coach from 1975-2002.She led the Lady Terps to 2 NCAA and 1 AIAW Final Four appearances. She also attended the University of Maryland graduating in 1966. Weller retired with 499 wins in 27 seasons as the Lady Terps...
as the first Maryland women's basketball
Maryland Terrapins women's basketball
The University of Maryland women's basketball team has been a prominent program in the history of women's basketball. As a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Lady Terrapins have been regular season and tournament champions on numerous occasions. They were struggling with a losing record...
coach. Driesell, Claiborne, Beardmore, and Weller have all been inducted into their respective sports Halls of Fame.
With the help of his college track teammate Tom Fields as head fundraiser, Kehoe made the Maryland athletic program financially successful as well. Throughout his nine-year tenure, the athletic department recorded a profit each year, primarily through alumni donors and increased attendance rates.
As Title IX
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...
was being debated, Kehoe resisted expansion of the women's athletic programs, arguing that they do not generate any income to support themselves.
Kehoe resigned in 1978 after disagreements with university chancellor Robert Gluckstern. He then took a temporary athletic department post at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. He briefly returned to the Maryland post as interim athletic director in 1980 before retiring in 1981. In 1989, he was hired as a special consultant to the athletic department of Mount St. Mary's University, a position in which he remained for one year.
Later life
Kehoe retired to Chesapeake BeachChesapeake Beach, Maryland
Chesapeake Beach is a town in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. Its major attractions include a Railway Museum & Trail, the Chesapeake Beach Water Park, marinas, piers, charter boat fishing, and a Veterans Memorial Park...
. In 1986, Kehoe was inducted into the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame
University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame
The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by the M Club Foundation to honor student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who made significant contributions to athletics at the University of Maryland...
. In 1998, he was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based professional association representing men's and women's cross country and track & field coaches in the United States. The organization has about 8,000 members...
Hall of Fame. The Kehoe Track and Field Complex
Ludwig Field
Ludwig Field is a stadium located on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland....
at the University of Maryland is named in his honor. Kehoe died of cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease
Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...
on January 17, 2010 at the Burnett-Calvert Hospice House in Prince Frederick, Maryland
Prince Frederick, Maryland
Prince Frederick is a census-designated place in Calvert County, Maryland, United States, not to be confused with the incorporated, and much larger, city of Frederick some to the northwest in Frederick County...
.