James Usilton

James Usilton (1895-1939)

Teams coached: Temple Owls
Temple record: 204-79 (.721)
Overall record: 204-79 (.721)

Career Accomplishments:

• NCAA National Championships:  0
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:  0
• NIT Championships:  1  (1938)
• NIT Appearances:  1  (1938)
• EIC Regular Season Champion:  2  (1937, 1938)
• Premo-Porretta National Championships:  1  (1938)
• Helms Foundation National Championships:  1  (1938)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1926-1939

Temple

James Usilton Facts

• James A. Usilton Sr.
• Born June 10, 1895
• Died March 13, 1939
• Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Alma Mater: Temple University (BA, 1917)
• A star athlete at Central HS in Philly. Usilton got his starting coaching at his alma mater
• Later became the head coach at Temple, his other alma mater, and led the Owls for 13 seasons
  • Went 204-79 overall with a tenure that was almost entirely before the NCAA Tournament era began
  • He led his 1937-38 team to a 23-2 record, winning the EIC; the Owls were the first-ever NIT Champions
  • His team was crowned national champion by the Helms Foundation and retroactively by Premo-Porretta
• The following season, Usilton began suffering from a heart condition and in November suffered through a serious bout of pneumonia; in March 1939, just days after the season ended, Usilton died in is home from a heart attack
  • Usilton, 43, was survived by his wife, Mary, and their four children (two sons and two daughters)
  • In 1973, Usilton was posthumously inducted into the Temple Athletic Hall of Fame

James Usilton Coaching Tree

• Harry Litwack (Temple)