James Lynah (1881 – February 24, 1956) was an American businessman and sports administrator who is considered the principal founder of the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fr ...

. Lynah Rink is named in his honor.

Early years

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Lynah transferred from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

to graduate from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1905 where he was a member of the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key at Yale University. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated ...

society and

Sigma Phi The Sigma Phi Society () was founded on the Fourth of March in the year 1827, on the campus of Union College as a part of the Union Triad in Schenectady, New York. It is the second Greek fraternal organization founded in the United States.

. He played for both coach John Heisman and

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

Joe Guyon Joseph Napoleon "Big Chief" Guyon (Anishinaabe: ''O-Gee-Chidah'', translated as "Big Brave"; November 26, 1892 – November 27, 1971) was an American Indian from the Ojibwa tribe (Chippewa) who was an American football and baseball player and co ...

is the only other known player who can make a similar claim. Lynah was an end for Heisman's

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

and

1901 Events January * January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...

Clemson teams, and he was captain and quarterback for Warner's 1904 Cornell team.

Engineer

After graduation, Lynah worked for DuPont for fifteen years, becoming a plant manager during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He went on to work at General Motors from 1922 to 1929, serving as director of purchasing and manufacturing staff.

Cornell athletics

An active alumnus of

, he was involved in many alumni committees, was chairman of a committee for the development of the

College of Engineering Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education ( bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations tha ...

and was a member of the College of Engineering Council. He succeeded Graduate Manager of Athletics

Romeyn Berry Romeyn Berry (1881-1957) was an American sports administrator and author. Nicknamed "Rym," Berry attended Cornell University, graduating in 1904 and earning a law degree in 1906. During his senior year, Berry was elected to the Sphinx Head Society ...

as the first Director of Athletics at

from 1935 to 1943. While serving as athletic director, Lynah led the movement to establish an athletic conference in the eastern United States. His efforts led to the creation of the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletics agency, which became the modern ECAC. Lynah was succeeded at Cornell by Robert Kane. He was one of the inaugural members of the

Athletic Hall of Fame.

After Cornell

Lynah left his position at Cornell on indefinite leave to serve as assistant director of the ammunition and light ordnance division of the National Defense Advisory Committee in Washington. He was also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Political and Social Science, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He chaired the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

committee on recruitment beginning in 1944.

Death and legacy

Lynah died in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

on February 24, 1956. The ECAC created the James Lynah Distinguished Achievement Award in 1957 to recognize outstanding athletic administrators. Previous winners include Asa Bushnell (1959), Thomas J. Hamilton (1976) and Robert Kane (1977).James Lynah Distinguished Achievement Award
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynah, James 1881 births 1956 deaths Cornell Big Red football players DuPont people Cornell Big Red athletic directors Businesspeople from Charleston, South Carolina Clemson Tigers football players American football ends 20th-century American businesspeople