Jim Harding

Jim Harding (c. 1927-2000)

Teams coached: Loyola (LA) Wolf Pack, Gannon Golden Knights, La Salle Explorers, Minnesota Pipers, Detroit Mercy Titans
Loyola (LA) record: 16-9 (.640)
Gannon record: 57-14 (.803)
La Salle record: 20-8 (.714)
Detroit Mercy record: 55-45 (.550)
Overall record^: 148-76 (.661)

Career Accomplishments:

• NCAA National Championships:  0
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:  2  (1958, 1968)
• NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
• NIT Championships:  0
• NIT Appearances:  0
• Middle Atlantic Regular Season Champion:  1  (1968)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1969-1973	Detroit Mercy
1968-1969	Minnesota Pipers
1967-1968	La Salle
1963-1966	Gannon
1957-1958	Loyola (LA)

Jim Harding Facts

• James F. Harding
• Born c. 1927
• Died June 3, 2000
• Hometown: Clinton, Iowa
• Alma Mater: University of Iowa (BA, 1949 & MA)
• An all-state high school basketball and football star in Iowa, Harding played both sports, the former for head coach Pops Harrison at Iowa
  • Briefly played professional basketball for the ABA’s Wilkes-Barre team after graduating from Iowa
• Spent several years as head coach at Marquette University HS in Milwaukee, WI, going 56-9 overall winning a state championship in 1954
• First collegiate coaching job was a one-year stint at then-Division I Loyola (LA) in New Orleans
  • Harding went 16-9 and led the Wolf Pack to the D-I NCAA Tournament in 1958
• Hired in 1963 to be the head basketball coach and athletic director at Gannon University in Erie, PA
  • Went 57-14 overall in three seasons on the court, winning 20 games in two of those
  • Inducted into the Gannon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986
• Moved back to Milwaukee to work in the private sector in 1966 but also spent time as a scout and television commentator
• Served as head coach at La Salle for one year, winning the 1968 Middle Atlantic title and getting back to the NCAA Tournament
• Left to be the head coach of the ABA’s Minnesota Pipers; served in that capacity for about half of their lone season in Minnesota (1968-69), going 20-13 overall at the helm
• Returned to college after that season, spending four years as the head coach at Detroit Mercy
  • After going 7-18 in his first year, Harding led the Titans to 18 wins in year three – one of their best seasons ever at that time
  • Finished his tenure at UDM with an overall record of 55-45; resigned in 1973
• From 1975-80, Harding served as the athletic director at at UW-Milwaukee

Jim Harding Coaching Tree

• Fran Dunphy (La Salle, Temple, Penn)
• Lefty Ervin (La Salle)
• Steve Vacendak (Winthrop, Greensboro College)

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA level only