Jim McCafferty
Loyola New Orleans | |
| 1957–1963 | Xavier |
|---|---|
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1962–1979 | Xavier |
James Joseph "Big Jim" McCafferty (March 14, 1916 – September 18, 2006) was an American
Early life
Showing early signs of his eventual 6'8", 280-pound frame[1] which would earn him the nickname "Big Jim", James Joseph McCafferty was born in Scammon, Kansas, weighing 19 pounds.[2] Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Henryetta, Oklahoma, where McCafferty grew up and played high school football. He was recruited by Loyola of the South to play football, but when the school dropped its football program after his freshman year, he switched to playing basketball for three seasons (1940–43). As a senior, he helped lead Loyola to a Dixie Conference Championship, and was named MVP of the tournament.[3]
Coaching career
After graduating with a degree in physical education in 1942, McCafferty remained at Loyola as the assistant coach in both basketball and track.
McCafferty became Loyola's head basketball coach in 1953, and led the Wolfpack for four seasons, including Loyola's first two NCAA Tournament appearances in
In his first season at Xavier, McCafferty led the Musketeers to the
McCafferty was head coach at Xavier for six seasons until 1963. He also served as the school's athletic director from 1962 to 1979.
After trying for over two decades to get Xavier into a Division I Conference, McCafferty's work paid off in 1979 when Xavier became a founding member of the new Midwestern City Conference (MCC), which became the Horizon League in 1985. McCafferty served as the first Commissioner of the MCC during the 1979-80 school year.[4]
Awards and recognition
McCafferty was selected in 1958 as Catholic College Coach of the Year, and Ohio College Coach of the Year. He has been inducted into the Halls of Fame at both Loyola and Xavier, as well as the Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame, and twice was designated to receive Loyola's Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2011, he was awarded a spot in the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame.[3][5]
In his honor, the McCafferty Trophy is annually awarded to a school which is recognized as the all-sport champion of the Horizon League. Also, since 1981 the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy has been awarded to the winner of regular season meetings between rivals Xavier and Dayton. It is named for the two former coaches of the respective schools, who are remembered as the two men who put their respective colleges' basketball teams on the national map.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loyola Wolfpack (Independent) (1949–1950)
| |||||||||
| 1949–50 | Loyola | 9–15 | |||||||
Loyola Wolfpack (Independent) (1953–1957)
| |||||||||
| 1953–54 | Loyola | 7–8 | NCAA first round | ||||||
| 1954–55 | Loyola | 14–9 | |||||||
| 1955–56 | Loyola | 10–15 | |||||||
| 1956–57 | Loyola | 14–12 | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||||
| Loyola: | 63–60 (.512) | ||||||||
| Xavier Musketeers (Independent) (1957–1963) | |||||||||
| 1957–58 | Xavier | 19–11 | NIT Champion
| ||||||
| 1958–59 | Xavier | 12–13 | |||||||
| 1959–60 | Xavier | 17–9 | |||||||
| 1960–61 | Xavier | 17–10 | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||||
| 1961–62 | Xavier | 14–12 | |||||||
| 1962–63 | Xavier | 12–16 | |||||||
| Xavier: | 91–71 (.562) | ||||||||
| Total: | 154–131 (.540) | ||||||||
References
- ^ "Obituary". Files.usgwarchives.net. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- ^ The Times-Picayune. February 29, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ a b c Casey Bienvenu (2012-01-09). "Jim McCafferty - Hall of Fame / Allstate Sugar Bowl". Allstatesugarbowl.org. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- ^ a b "Player Bio: James J. McCafferty - Xavier Musketeers Official Athletic Site". Goxavier.com. 1979-06-16. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
- ^ "Loyola athletics icon to enter Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame - Loyola University New Orleans". Loyno.edu. 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2013-07-25.