MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee president Sidney McPhee announced today the hiring of James "Boots" Donnelly as the school's athletic director. Donnelly, who has served as the interim athletic director for the past 15 months, is the Blue Raiders' fifth full-time athletic director and takes over for Lee Fowler, who left the post to become athletic director at North Carolina State on October 1, 2000.
Donnelly, 58, is one of the most recognized names in Middle Tennessee athletics history. He was a player on the football team in the early '60s, then became head football coach in 1979 and held that position for 20 years before resigning in 1998. Donnelly then spent the next two years as director of community relations in the athletic department before being selected by former president James Walker to take over as interim athletic director.
During his 15 months, Donnelly has made an immediate impact by securing a $1 million pledge for the future construction of a Blue Raider Hall of Fame building, successfully contracting football games in 2002 with Alabama and Tennessee for a combined revenue of $1 million, and steering the renovation of Middle Tennessee's outdoor tennis complex. Donnelly has also hired a new women's golf coach, a new softball coach, and a women's soccer coach.
In his 20 years as head coach of the Blue Raiders, Donnelly amassed an overall record of 140-87-1, ranking him as the 8th most successful head coach in NCAA Division I-AA history.
When Donnelly came back to his alma mater to assume the head coaching position, the Blue Raiders had not had a winning season in six seasons and hadn't won an Ohio Valley Conference title in 13 years. It took him three seasons to post a winning mark at Middle Tennessee, but from there the results speak for themselves.
During his illustrious career, Boots won four Ohio Valley Conference championships, had 10 National Top 25 finishes, made seven I-AA playoff appearances, had 14 players go on to play in the NFL, coached nine First Team All-Americans, had 12 OVC Players of the Year, was a three-time OVC Coach of the Year, and a two-time Regional Coach of the Year. Boots also received the National Football Foundation "Contribution to Football" award in 1989 and was named the Tennessee Sports Writers Coach of the Year in 1988 and again in 1994.
A member of the Blue Raider Hall of Fame (1993), Donnelly was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
His coaching career began at Nashville's Father Ryan High School, where he had been a top-flight, all-around athlete. He was an assistant coach there for eight years before becoming head coach in 1974, leading Ryan to a 21-1 record over two seasons, including a perfect 13-0 mark and the Tennessee Class AAA title in '74.
Donnelly had been the Nashville Interscholastic League's Player of the Year in 1960, before enrolling at Middle Tennessee, where he played as a defensive back for three seasons. He passed up his final year of eligibility with the Blue Raiders in 1965 to complete his degree. He added the master's degree from Middle Tennessee in 1966.
Donnelly's ties to Middle Tennessee don't begin with coaching. He played football for the Blue Raiders from 1962-64 under another legendary Blue Raider coach, Charles "Bubber" Murphy. During his time as a player, Middle Tennessee compiled an overall record of 22-8-1.
Donnelly is married to the former Carole Holzapfel. The couple has three daughters - Bunny, Helen, and Lauren - and two grandsons.