View source for Jim Wacker

{{Short description|American football player, coach, and administrator (1937–2003)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Jim Wacker
| image = Jim Wacker.png
| alt = 
| caption = Wacker, {{Circa|1977}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1937|4|29}}
| birth_place = [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2003|8|26|1937|4|29}}
| death_place = [[San Marcos, Texas]], U.S.
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = 1957–1959
| player_team1 = [[Valparaiso Crusaders football|Valparaiso]]
| player_positions = [[Tackle (gridiron football position)|Tackle]]
| coach_years1 = 1960–1963
| coach_team1 = Concordia HS (OR) (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 1964–1969
| coach_team2 = [[Concordia Bulldogs football|Concordia (NE)]] (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 1970
| coach_team3 = [[Augustana University Vikings football|Augustana (SD)]] (assistant)
| coach_years4 = 1971–1975
| coach_team4 = [[Texas Lutheran Bulldogs football|Texas Lutheran]]
| coach_years5 = 1976–1978
| coach_team5 = [[North Dakota State Bison football|North Dakota State]]
| coach_years6 = 1979–1982
| coach_team6 = [[Texas State Bobcats football|Southwest Texas State]]
| coach_years7 = 1983–1991
| coach_team7 = [[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]]
| coach_years8 = 1992–1996
| coach_team8 = [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]]
| admin_years1 = 1998–2001
| admin_team1 = [[Texas State Bobcats|Southwest Texas State]]
| overall_record = 159–131–3
| bowl_record = 0–1
| tournament_record = 4–0 (NAIA D-II playoffs)<br>8–2 (NCAA D-II playoffs)
| championships = 2 [[NAIA Football National Championship|NAIA Division II]] (1974–1975)<br>2 [[NCAA Division II Football Championship|NCAA Division II]] (1981–1982)<br>2 [[North Central Conference|NCC]] (1976–1977)<br>3 [[Lone Star Conference|LSC]] (1980–1982)
| awards = [[AFCA Coach of the Year#College Division (1960–1982)|AFCA College Division Coach of the Year]] (1982)<br>[[Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award]] (1984)<br>[[Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year|Sporting News College Football COY]] (1984)<br>2× [[Lone Star Conference|LSC]] Coach of the Year (1980, 1982)
| coaching_records = 
}}
'''James Herbert Wacker''' (April 28, 1937 – August 26, 2003) was an American [[American football|football]] coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at [[Texas Lutheran University]] (1971–1975), [[North Dakota State University]] (1976–1978), Southwest Texas State University—now [[Texas State University]] (1979–1982), [[Texas Christian University]] (1983–1991), and the [[University of Minnesota]] (1992–1996), compiling a career [[college football]] record of 159–131–3. Wacker won two [[NAIA Football National Championship|NAIA Division II National Championships]] with Texas Lutheran in 1974 and 1975, and two [[NCAA Division II Football Championship]]s with Southwest Texas State, in 1981 and 1982.

==Early life and education==
The son of a [[Lutheran]] minister, Wacker was born and raised in [[Detroit]]. He graduated from Lutheran-affiliated [[Valparaiso University]] in 1960 and went on to further studies at [[Wayne State University]].

==Coaching career==
In the early phase of his coaching career, Wacker coached at [[Texas Lutheran University]] (1971–1975), [[North Dakota State University]] (1976–1978), and [[Texas State University–San Marcos|Southwest Texas State University]] (1979–1982). He won four national championships, two at Texas Lutheran and two at Southwest Texas State.
[[File:Jim Wacker 1981.jpg|thumb|Wacker after the [[Palm Bowl]], 1981]]

===TCU===
Wacker became head football coach of [[Texas Christian University]] after the 1982 season. He had early success at TCU. In 1984, his team was ranked as high as #12, the [[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU Frogs]]' highest ranking since 1960, and was invited to the [[Bluebonnet Bowl]] after an 8–3 record in the regular season, their first bowl appearance in 20 years. The #12-ranked Frogs lost a showdown for the [[Southwest Conference]] title with the #10-ranked [[Texas Longhorns football|Texas Longhorns]] on November 10 in what remains the third best-attended game in the history of [[Amon G. Carter Stadium]]. TCU finished in a three-way tie for third in the 1984 SWC standings with Arkansas and Texas one game behind co-champions SMU and Houston. After the season, Wacker was named as National Coach of the Year by [[ESPN]], the [[United Press International|UPI]], and ''[[The Sporting News]]''. He was awarded the 1984 [[Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award]].

There was much hype surrounding the Frogs going into the 1985 season, and Wacker appeared on the cover of ''[[Dave Campbell's Texas Football]]'' alongside his [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] [[running back]], [[Kenneth Davis (American football)|Kenneth Davis]], a finalist for the [[Heisman Trophy]] in 1984 and a leading candidate for the award in 1985. After the first game of the season, Wacker discovered that several players, including Davis, had been benefiting from a payment plan in violation of [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] rules. Wacker promptly kicked the players off the team and self-reported the infractions to the NCAA, cementing his reputation as a man of integrity. For all intents and purposes, this ended the Frogs' season; they finished 3-8, including a winless SWC slate.

In 1986, the NCAA slapped TCU with three years' probation and a ban on postseason play in the 1986 season. The most severe penalty in the long run, however, was a reduction to only 25 scholarships in 1987 and 1988. To this day, Horned Frog fans remain bitter that the NCAA imposed such a severe penalty given that the violations were voluntarily reported.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coachwyatt.com/Aug03.html|title=Coach Wyatt Newsletter|access-date=April 8, 2007}}</ref> As heavy-handed as this penalty was, the NCAA seriously considered banning the Horned Frogs from bowl games and live television for three years and no new scholarships in 1987 or 1988. However, it praised Wacker for taking swift corrective action once the violations came to light, including kicking the players off the team when he was well aware that it would cripple the team for the upcoming season.<ref>[https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/search/miCaseView/report?id=102141 1986 infraction report]</ref> As it turned out, TCU would need the rest of the decade and much of the next to recover; they would have only two more winning records until 1997.

Wacker brought the team back to success in 1990, when the 5–1 Frogs returned to the top 25 for the first time since 1984, before slumping after a season-ending injury to their starting quarterback. In 1991, TCU finished 7–4 for their first winning season since 1984. However, blowout losses to Texas and Texas A&M kept the Horned Frogs out of a bowl. This was one of only three winning seasons TCU had from 1985 to 1997.

===Minnesota===
Wacker served as head coach at the [[University of Minnesota]] from 1992 to 1996. Although he had a disappointing won-lost record (16–39) at Minnesota, for three years his teams led the conference with academic all-conference honors.

==Later life, death, and honors==
Wacker was an [[announcer]] on [[CBS Radio]] for two years and then returned to Southwest Texas State University in 1998 to serve as [[athletic director]] until 2001. He died after a long battle with [[cancer]] in [[San Marcos, Texas]] on August 26, 2003. In November 2003, Southwest Texas State named its football field at [[Bobcat Stadium (Texas State)|Bobcat Stadium]] "Jim Wacker Field" in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pride-traditions.ua.txstate.edu/Places/wacker-field.html |title=Jim Wacker Field at Bobcat Stadium |publisher=[[Texas State University–San Marcos]] |access-date=July 16, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611053040/http://pride-traditions.ua.txstate.edu/Places/wacker-field.html |archive-date=June 11, 2010 }}</ref>

==Head coaching record==
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = NCAA }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Texas Lutheran Bulldogs football|Texas Lutheran Bulldogs]]
 | conf      = NAIA Division II independent
 | startyear = 1971
 | endyear   = 1975
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1971 NAIA Division II football season|1971]]
 | name         = Texas Lutheran
 | overall      = 5–6
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1972 NAIA Division II football season|1972]]
 | name         = Texas Lutheran
 | overall      = 3–7
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1973 NAIA Division II football season|1973]]
 | name         = Texas Lutheran
 | overall      = 7–3
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1974 NAIA Division II football season|1974]]
 | name         = [[1975 Texas Lutheran Bulldogs football team|Texas Lutheran]]
 | overall      = 11–0
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = [[NAIA Football National Championship|NAIA Division II Championship]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1975 NAIA Division II football season|1975]]
 | name         = [[1975 Texas Lutheran Bulldogs football team|Texas Lutheran]]
 | overall      = 11–1
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | bowlname     = [[NAIA Football National Championship|NAIA Division II Championship]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Texas Lutheran
 | overall    = 37–17
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[North Dakota State Bison football|North Dakota State Bison]]
 | conf      = [[North Central Conference]]
 | startyear = 1976
 | endyear   = 1978
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1976 NCAA Division II football season|1976]]
 | name         = [[1976 North Dakota State Bison football team|North Dakota State]]
 | overall      = 9–3
 | conference   = 6–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[NCAA Division II Football Championship|NCAA Division II Semifinal]] ([[1976 Grantland Rice Bowl|Grantland Rice]])
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = T–8
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1977 NCAA Division II football season|1977]]
 | name         = [[1977 North Dakota State Bison football team|North Dakota State]]
 | overall      = 9–2–1
 | conference   = 6–0–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[NCAA Division II Football Championship|NCAA Division II Semifinal]] ([[1977 Grantland Rice Bowl|Grantland Rice]])
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 1
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1978 NCAA Division II football season|1978]]
 | name         = [[1978 North Dakota State Bison football team|North Dakota State]]
 | overall      = 6–4
 | conference   = 3–3
 | confstanding = T–3rd
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = North Dakota State
 | overall    = 24–9–1
 | confrecord = 15–3–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Texas State Bobcats football|Southwest Texas State Bobcats]]
 | conf      = [[Lone Star Conference]]
 | startyear = 1979
 | endyear   = 1982
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1979 NCAA Division II football season|1979]]
 | name         = [[1979 Southwest Texas State Bobcats football team|Southwest Texas State]]
 | overall      = 7–4
 | conference   = 3–4
 | confstanding = T–5th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | year         = [[1980 NCAA Division II football season|1980]]
 | name         = [[1980 Southwest Texas State Bobcats football team|Southwest Texas State]]
 | overall      = 8–3
 | conference   = 6–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 8
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1981 NCAA Division II football season|1981]]
 | name         = [[1981 Southwest Texas State Bobcats football team|Southwest Texas State]]
 | overall      = 13–1
 | conference   = 6–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[NCAA Division II Football Championship|NCAA Division II Championship]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 4
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = national
 | year         = [[1982 NCAA Division II football season|1982]]
 | name         = [[1982 Southwest Texas State Bobcats football team|Southwest Texas State]]
 | overall      = 14–0
 | conference   = 7–0
 | confstanding = 1st
 | bowlname     = [[NCAA Division II Football Championship|NCAA Division II Championship]]
 | bowloutcome  = W
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 1
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Southwest Texas State
 | overall    = 42–8
 | confrecord = 22–6
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU Horned Frogs]]
 | conf      = [[Southwest Conference]]
 | startyear = 1983
 | endyear   = 1991
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1983 NCAA Division I-A football season|1983]]
 | name         = [[1983 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 1–8–2
 | conference   = 1–6–1
 | confstanding = 8th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1984 NCAA Division I-A football season|1984]]
 | name         = [[1984 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 8–4
 | conference   = 5–3
 | confstanding = T–3rd
 | bowlname     = [[1984 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl|Astro-Bluebonnet]]
 | bowloutcome  = L
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1985 NCAA Division I-A football season|1985]]
 | name         = [[1985 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 3–8
 | conference   = 0–8
 | confstanding = 9th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1986 NCAA Division I-A football season|1986]]
 | name         = [[1986 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 3–8
 | conference   = 1–7
 | confstanding = 8th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1987 NCAA Division I-A football season|1987]]
 | name         = [[1987 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 5–6
 | conference   = 3–4
 | confstanding = T–5th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1988 NCAA Division I-A football season|1988]]
 | name         = [[1988 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 4–7
 | conference   = 2–5
 | confstanding = T–5th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1989 NCAA Division I-A football season|1989]]
 | name         = [[1989 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 4–7
 | conference   = 2–6
 | confstanding = T–7th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1990 NCAA Division I-A football season|1990]]
 | name         = [[1990 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 5–6
 | conference   = 3–5
 | confstanding = T–5th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1991 NCAA Division I-A football season|1991]]
 | name         = [[1991 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]
 | overall      = 7–4
 | conference   = 4–4
 | confstanding = T–5th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = TCU
 | overall    = 40–58–2
 | confrecord = 21–48–1
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota Golden Gophers]]
 | conf      = [[Big Ten Conference]]
 | startyear = 1992
 | endyear   = 1996
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1992 NCAA Division I-A football season|1992]]
 | name         = [[1992 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]
 | overall      = 2–9
 | conference   = 2–6
 | confstanding = 10th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1993 NCAA Division I-A football season|1993]]
 | name         = [[1993 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]
 | overall      = 4–7
 | conference   = 3–5
 | confstanding = T–8th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1994 NCAA Division I-A football season|1994]]
 | name         = [[1994 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]
 | overall      = 3–8
 | conference   = 1–7
 | confstanding = 11th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1995 NCAA Division I-A football season|1995]]
 | name         = [[1995 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]
 | overall      = 3–8
 | conference   = 1–7
 | confstanding = 10th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | year         = [[1996 NCAA Division I-A football season|1996]]
 | name         = [[1996 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]
 | overall      = 4–7
 | conference   = 1–7
 | confstanding = T–9th
 | bowlname     = 
 | bowloutcome  = 
 | bcsbowl      = 
 | ranking      = 
 | ranking2     = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Minnesota
 | overall    = 16–39
 | confrecord = 8–32
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
 | overall  = 159–131–3
 | bowls    = no
 | poll     = two
 | polltype = 
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Find a Grave}}

{{Navboxes
| list1 =
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{{Bobby Dodd Award winners}}
{{Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year}}
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}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wacker, Jim}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:American football tackles]]
[[Category:Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings football coaches]]
[[Category:Concordia Bulldogs football coaches]]
[[Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches]]
[[Category:North Dakota State Bison football coaches]]
[[Category:TCU Horned Frogs football coaches]]
[[Category:Texas Lutheran Bulldogs football coaches]]
[[Category:Texas State Bobcats athletic directors]]
[[Category:Texas State Bobcats football coaches]]
[[Category:Valparaiso Beacons football players]]
[[Category:High school football coaches in Oregon]]
[[Category:Wayne State University alumni]]
[[Category:Coaches of American football from Michigan]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Detroit]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Texas]]