| Jim Sweeney | |
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born | September 1, 1929 Butte, Montana, U.S. |
| Died | February 8, 2013 (aged 83) |
| Playing career | |
| 1947-49 | Portland |
| Position(s) | End [1] |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1950 1951 1952–1955 1956–1959 1960–1962 1963–1967 1968–1975 1976–1977 1978 1979 1980–1996 | Columbia HS (OR) - (ass't) Butte Central HS (ass't) Butte Central HS Flathead HS Montana State (ass't) Montana State Washington State Fresno State Oakland - NFL (ass't) St. Louis - NFL (ass't) Fresno State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 201–153–4 |
| Bowls | 6–3 |
| Statistics College Football Data Warehouse | |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships 3 Big Sky (1964, 1966–1967) 6 PCAA/Big West (1977, 1982, 1985, 1988–1989, 1991) 2 WAC (1992–1993) | |
Jim Sweeney (September 1, 1929 – February 8, 2013)[2] was an American football coach. He served as the head coach at Montana State University (1963–67), Washington State University (1968–75), and California State University, Fresno (1976–77, 1980–96). Sweeney's 144 wins as the head coach at Fresno State are the most in the history of the program. He compiled a career college football record of 201–153–4.
Early years[]
Sweeney was born in Butte, Montana, and played college football at the University of Portland, and graduated in 1951.[2] After his junior year, the school dropped football as an intercollegiate sport, and Sweeney spent his senior season of 1950 as a high school coach at Columbia High School in Portland.[3]
Coaching career[]
Following graduation he returned to Montana and was a high school assistant at Butte Central for a season, then head coach from 1952 to 1955, and at Flathead High School in Kalispell from 1956 to 1959.[4] Sweeney moved up to the college ranks in 1960 as an assistant coach at Montana State in Bozeman, and was promoted to head coach in 1963.[5] He compiled a 31–20 (.608) record and three Big Sky conference championships in his five seasons with the Bobcats,[6] where one of his starting quarterbacks was Dennis Erickson. At Montana State, Sweeney is credited with convincing Jan Stenerud, a Norwegian on a skiing scholarship, to go out for the football team as a kicker.[7] Stenerud went on to become the only "pure" kicker inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[2][8]
After his success in Bozeman, he moved up to the Pac-8 Conference in 1968 at Washington State in Pullman, where he compiled a 26–59–1 (.308) record in eight seasons.[9][10] His team's most noteworthy accomplishment was the defeat of Rose Bowl-bound Stanford in 1971 to garner him NCAA District 8 Coach of the Year honors. After a disappointing conclusion to the 1975 season (winless in conference), Sweeney resigned at WSU a week after the season ended and was promptly hired at Fresno State, where he coached for two seasons before becoming an NFL assistant for two years. He spent the 1978 season with the Oakland Raiders in John Madden's final season, and the 1979 season with the St. Louis Cardinals under Bud Wilkinson, who was fired before the season's end. Sweeney returned to Fresno State as head coach in 1980 for 17 seasons and he compiled a 144–74–3 (.658) record and eight conference championships (PCAA/Big West and WAC) in 19 seasons.[11][12] Sweeney retired from coaching following the 1996 season with 201 wins in 32 seasons.
Head coaching record[]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana State Bobcats (Big Sky Conference) (1963–1967)[13] | |||||||||
| 1963 | Montana State | 6–3 | 2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1964 | Montana State | 7–4 | 3–0 | 1st | W Camellia | ||||
| 1965 | Montana State | 3–7 | 1–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1966 | Montana State | 8–3 | 4–0 | 1st | L Camellia | ||||
| 1967 | Montana State | 7–3 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| Montana State: | 31–20 | 14–4 | |||||||
| Washington State Cougars (Pacific-8 Conference) (1968–1975) | |||||||||
| 1968 | Washington State | 3–6–1 | 1–3–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1969 | Washington State | 1–9 | 0–7 | 8th | |||||
| 1970 | Washington State | 1–10 | 0–7 | 8th | |||||
| 1971 | Washington State | 4–7 | 2–5 | 7th | |||||
| 1972 | Washington State | 7–4 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1973 | Washington State | 5–6 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1974 | Washington State | 2–9 | 1–6 | 7th | |||||
| 1975 | Washington State | 3–8 | 0–7 | 8th | |||||
| Washington State: | 26–59–1 | 12–41–1 | |||||||
| Fresno State Bulldogs (Pacific Coast Athletic Conference) (1976–1977) | |||||||||
| 1976 | Fresno State | 6–5* | 3–1 | ||||||
| 1977 | Fresno State | 9–2 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| Fresno State Bulldogs (Pacific Coast Athletic Conference/Big West Conference) (1980–1991) | |||||||||
| 1980 | Fresno State | 5–6 | 1–4 | ||||||
| 1981 | Fresno State | 5–6 | 2–3 | ||||||
| 1982 | Fresno State | 11–1 | 6–0 | 1st | W California | ||||
| 1983 | Fresno State | 6–5 | 2–4 | ||||||
| 1984 | Fresno State | 6–6 | 3–4 | ||||||
| 1985 | Fresno State | 11–0–1 | 7–0 | 1st | W California | 16 | |||
| 1986 | Fresno State | 9–2 | 6–1 | ||||||
| 1987 | Fresno State | 6–5 | 4–3 | ||||||
| 1988 | Fresno State | 10–2 | 7–0 | 1st | W California | ||||
| 1989 | Fresno State | 11–1 | 7–0 | 1st | W California | ||||
| 1990 | Fresno State | 8–2–1 | 5–5–1 | ||||||
| 1991 | Fresno State | 10–2 | 6–1 | 1st | L California | ||||
| Fresno State Bulldogs (Western Athletic Conference) (1992–1996) | |||||||||
| 1992 | Fresno State | 9–4 | 6–2 | T–1st | W Freedom | 22 | 24 | ||
| 1993 | Fresno State | 8–4 | 6–2 | T–1st | L Aloha | ||||
| 1994 | Fresno State | 5–7–1 | 3–4–1 | 7th | |||||
| 1995 | Fresno State | 5–7 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 1996 | Fresno State | 4–7 | 3–5 | T–5th (Pacific) | |||||
| Fresno State: | 144–74–3 | 83–45–2 | *Includes forfeit by Louisiana–Lafayette | ||||||
| Total: | 201–153–4 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. | |||||||||
Personal[]
Sweeney is the father of 9 children: Jim Sweeney, Peggy Sweeney, Sheila Sweeney, Carol Sweeney, Mary Lou Dion Sweeney, Daniel Sweeney, Colline Sweeney, Patty Negrete Sweeney and Kevin Sweeney, whom he coached while at Fresno State.[14] His wife and mother of all his children, Lucille Sweeney, died in the 1980s. He has since married June Sweeney and they reside in Fresno, CA. Two of Jim's grandsons play for PAC10 football teams. Nate Fellner is at University of Washington, and Kyle Negrete USC. Grandson Beau Sweeney played at CAL before transferring in 2011. On February 8, 2013, Fresno State Athletics confirmed that the beloved football coach passed away shortly before 8pm PT. Coach Sweeney and his wife had recently moved to a senior living home due to his failing health, which included a stay at St. Agnes Medical Center. Jim Sweeney was 83.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Eugene Register-Guard - Cougar defense keyed on run, not pass - 1968-11-10 - p.3B
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Coaching Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 384. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/DI/2008/Pages%20383-404%20-%202008%20Coaching%20Records.pdf. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- ↑ The Times-News - Sweeney gets coaching honor - United Press International - 1971-10-21 - p.9
- ↑ Lewiston Morning Tribune - Sweeney new head football coach at Washington State University - 1968-01-06 - p.9
- ↑ Lewiston Morning Tribune - Sweeney says he'll stay - 1973-12-14 - p.21
- ↑ Big Sky Conference Football Media Guide
- ↑ Putnam, Pat (November 4, 1968). "Big Kick Out Of A Strange Game". Sports Illustrated. CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081775/1/index.htm. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ↑ "All-Time Coaching Records". College Football Data Warehouse. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_year_by_year.php?coachid=2284. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- ↑ Washington State Football Media Guide
- ↑ Pacific-10 Conference Media Guide
- ↑ Fresno State Football Media Guide
- ↑ Western Athletic Conference Football Media Guide
- ↑ "Jim Sweeney". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jim-sweeney-1.html. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
- ↑ She's the Signal Caller Father, Son Answer To, Washington Post, Wednesday, August 27, 2008; Page J05
External links[]
- Washington State.scout.com - The Smilin' Irishman - Jim Sweeney
- Washington State.scout.com - Remember Rogers Field
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by ? |
St. Louis Cardinals Offensive Coordinator 1979 |
Succeeded by Harry Gilmer |
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