Jim Wacker​

Jim Wacker earned a reputation for an eternally positive view of life throughout his 37-year coaching career, which produced national championships and high academic achievement.​

His football coaching experience began in 1960 as a high school coach in Oregon, but it was his record in Texas that moved him up the coaching ladder. He was the head coach at Texas Lutheran College from 1971 to 1975 where the Bulldogs won the NAIA Division II national championship in 1974 and 1975. After three seasons, two conference championships and two semifinal playoff appearances at North Dakota State, he became head coach at Southwest Texas State where he led the Bobcats to NCAA Division II championships in 1981 and 1982. The 1982 team had a perfect 14-0 season and Wacker was named College Division Coach of the Year. His four-year record at SWT was 42-8.​​

Wacker moved into the Southwest Conference in 1983 where he coached nine seasons at Texas Christian University. Three organizations honored him as National Coach of the Year in 1984 when he led the 8-3 Horned Frogs to the Bluebonnet Bowl. In 1992, he became the head coach at the University of Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference. In each of his five years at Minnesota, the Gophers led the conference in graduation rates and all-academic selections. He retired from coaching with a 160-130-3 record, and in 1998 became the Athletic Director at Southwest Texas State where he served until 2002.​