James Anthony Carlen III (July 11, 1933 – July 22, 2012) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

(1966–1969) and

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

(1970–1974). He served as both the head football coach and athletic director of the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

(1975–1981). Carlen compiled an overall career

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

record of 107–69–6.

Coaching career

Carlen coached the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

from 1966 to 1969 with a record of 25–13–3 (.658). Then he coached the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams us ...

from 1970 to 1974, where he amassed a 37–20–2 record. From 1975 to 1981, he was the head football coach of the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

where he coached

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

running back George Rogers and compiled a 45–36–1 record. Carlen 45 wins are third most in the program's history after

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

's 86 and Rex Enright's 64. In 1979 and 1980, Carlen led the Gamecocks to consecutive 8–4 campaigns with appearances in the Hall of Fame Classic and

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

. His career

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

record is 2–5–1. In July 2008, four years before his death, Carlen was inducted into the Texas Tech Athletics Hall of Honor. Coach Carlen was actively involved in the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international nonprofit Christian sports ministry based in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City. History FCA was founded in 1954 by Eastern Oklahoma State College, Eastern Oklahoma A&M basketball c ...

(FCA) during his entire post-coaching life. In April 2011 he was quoted as saying, “I was one of the original six members of the FCA, the originals. FCA started very small, and then it snowballed. When I hired a coach I always took a close look at his spiritual life,” Carlen said. “When you have God on your side you don’t have to worry.”

Death

Carlen died on July 22, 2012, at the age of seventy-nine at a nursing home near his home at

Hilton Head Island Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), and southwest of Charlesto ...

in Beaufort County in southeastern South Carolina. A memorial service was scheduled for Friday, July 27, at 4 p.m. at the Trenholm Road

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

Church in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlen, Jim 1933 births 2012 deaths American football linebackers American football punters Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players South Carolina Gamecocks athletic directors South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches West Virginia Mountaineers football coaches Sportspeople from Hilton Head, South Carolina Players of American football from Tennessee People from Cookeville, Tennessee Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States American United Methodists 20th-century Methodists Deaths from dementia in South Carolina