Don James

Vocation

Notable

American football coach at Kent State University and at the University of Washington, who accumulated one of the top winning records in college football. James worked at Kent State from 1971-1974 when he was hired by the University of Washington. In his eighteen years there, he racked up an impressive record, taking his team to a national championship in 1991, six Rose Bowls with four wins, and an Orange Bowl title in 1985. James was named national college coach of the year in 1984 and 1991. On August 22, 1993 he resigned after a football conference barred the school for infractions of ethics codes. After graduating from high school, James attended the University of Miami in Florida on a scholarship. He served two years in the Army before attending the University of Kansas where he worked as coach to the freshman football team. In 1957 with a master's degree in education, he began coaching high school football in Florida. After two years, he landed a job as assistant coach at Florida State where he stayed from 1956- 65. He then moved to Michigan where he stayed a year, from 1966-67. After two years at Colorado, from 1968-1970, he was named head coach at Kent State. In his four years there, Kent State made it to its first bowl game ever. On December 23, 1974, he accepted the job of head coach at the University of Washington. James was president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1989. Link to Wikipedia biography