Jim Wacker
Jim Wacker went 148–130–3 as a head coach, 1971–1996, at Texas Lutheran, North Dakota State, Southwest Texas State, TCU and Minnesota. Share
11 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1971–73, 1975 at Texas Lutheran; 1976–78 at North Dakota State; 1979–82 at Southwest Texas State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 148–130–3 career
- Seasons
- 25
- Schools
- 5
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1984 8–4
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Texas Lutheran * | 5–6 | ||||
| 1972 | Texas Lutheran * | 3–7 | ||||
| 1973 | Texas Lutheran * | 7–3 | ||||
| 1974: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1975 | Texas Lutheran * | 11–0 | NAIA Division II Championship W | |||
| 1976 | North Dakota State * | 9–3 | 1st | NCAA Division II Semifinal (Grantland Rice) L | ||
| 1977 | North Dakota State * | 9–2–1 | 1st | NCAA Division II Semifinal (Grantland Rice) L | 1 | |
| 1978 | North Dakota State * | 6–4 | T–3rd | |||
| 1979 | Southwest Texas State * | 7–4 | T–5th | |||
| 1980 | Southwest Texas State * | 8–3 | 1st | 8 | ||
| 1981 | Southwest Texas State * | 13–1 | 1st | NCAA Division II Championship W | 4 | |
| 1982 | Southwest Texas State * | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Division II Championship W | 1 | |
| 1983 | TCU | 1–8–2 | 8th | |||
| 1984 | TCU | 8–4 | T–3rd | Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl L | ||
| 1985 | TCU | 3–8 | 9th | |||
| 1986 | TCU | 3–8 | 8th | |||
| 1987 | TCU | 5–6 | T–5th | |||
| 1988 | TCU | 4–7 | T–5th | |||
| 1989 | TCU | 4–7 | T–7th | |||
| 1990 | TCU | 5–6 | T–5th | |||
| 1991 | TCU | 7–4 | T–5th | |||
| 1992 | Minnesota | 2–9 | 10th | |||
| 1993 | Minnesota | 4–7 | T–8th | |||
| 1994 | Minnesota | 3–8 | 11th | |||
| 1995 | Minnesota | 3–8 | 10th | |||
| 1996 | Minnesota | 4–7 | T–9th | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Kenneth DavisFifth in the 1984 Heisman vote- Kelly BlackwellConsensus All‑American, 1991
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 37 | 4–33 | 11% |
| Against top-10 teams | 15 | 0–15 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 60 | 11–48–1 | 19% |
| Conference games | 110 | 29–80–1 | 27% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 48 | 19–27–2 | 42% |
| At home | 83 | 37–45–1 | 45% |
| On the road | 70 | 19–50–1 | 28% |
| At neutral sites | 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 44 | 31–12–1 | 72% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 111 | 25–85–1 | 23% |
His own 155 games on file, 1983–1996, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Teaff 1983–1991 | 3–6 | Baylor | 9 | |
| Ken Hatfield 1984–1989 | 1–5 | Arkansas | 6 | |
| Jackie Sherrill 1983–1988 | 0–6 | Texas A&M | 6 | |
| David McWilliams 1986–1991 | 0–6 | Texas Tech, Texas | 6 | |
| Barry Alvarez 1992–1996 | 2–3 | Wisconsin | 5 | |
| Jim Colletto 1992–1996 | 2–3 | Purdue | 5 | |
| Lou Tepper 1992–1996 | 2–3 | Illinois | 5 | |
| Spike Dykes 1987–1991 | 1–4 | Texas Tech | 5 | |
| Hayden Fry 1992–1996 | 1–4 | Iowa | 5 | |
| Bill Yeoman 1983–1986 | 2–2 | Houston | 4 |
Jim Wacker’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Riceseries | 9 | 7–2 |
| Houstonseries | 9 | 4–5 |
| Baylorseries | 9 | 3–6 |
| Arkansasseries | 9 | 2–7 |
| Texas Techseries | 9 | 2–6–1 |
| Texas A&Mseries | 9 | 0–9 |
| Texasseries | 9 | 0–9 |
| SMUseries | 7 | 3–4 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 1984 TCU: Bobby Dodd Award
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960–63 | Concordia HS (OR) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1964–69 | Concordia (NE) | Assistant coach | |
| 1970 | Augustana (SD) | Assistant coach | |
| 1971–75 | Texas Lutheran | Head coach | |
| 1976–78 | North Dakota State | Head coach | |
| 1979–82 | Southwest Texas State | Head coach | |
| 1983–91 | TCU | Head coach | |
| 1992–96 | Minnesota | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Assistants who became head coaches
- Tom MuellerTexas Lutheran
- Don MortonTulsa, Wisconsin, North Dakota State
- Bob BrushGeorgetown (KY), Wingate
- Bob DeBesseTexas State
- L. C. ColeTennessee State, Alabama State, Stillman
- Mickey MatthewsJames Madison
- Rocky LongNew Mexico, San Diego State
- Greg KnoxMississippi State, Florida
- Kevin SumlinHouston, Texas A&M, Arizona, Houston Gamblers
- Jim ZornWashington Redskins, Seattle Dragons
- Mark SnyderMarshall, Shawnee State
- Tim RoseMiami (OH)
Coached under him, later head coaches (12)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Mueller | Texas Lutheran, 1971–75: defensive coordinator; North Dakota State, 1976: wide receivers coach; 1977–78: defensive coordinator; Texas State, 1979–82: defensive coordinator; TCU, 1983–87: defensive coordinator; 1988–91: recruiting coordinator | Texas Lutheran | |
| Don Morton | North Dakota State, 1977–78: backfield coach | Tulsa, Wisconsin, North Dakota State | |
| Bob Brush | Texas State, 1979–81: defensive coordinator | Georgetown (KY), Wingate | |
| Bob DeBesse | Texas State, 1981–82: graduate assistant; TCU, 1983–89: running backs and quarterbacks coach; 1990–91: offensive coordinator; Minnesota, 1992–96: offensive coordinator | Texas State | |
| L. C. Cole | Texas State, 1982: graduate assistant | Tennessee State, Alabama State, Stillman | |
| Mickey Matthews | TCU, 1987: defensive backs coach | James Madison | |
| Rocky Long | TCU, 1988–90: defensive backs coach | New Mexico, San Diego State | |
| Greg Knox | TCU, 1990–91: graduate assistant | Mississippi State, Florida | |
| Kevin Sumlin | Minnesota, 1993–96: wide receivers coach | Houston, Texas A&M, Arizona, Houston Gamblers | |
| Jim Zorn | Minnesota, 1995–96: quarterbacks coach | Washington Redskins, Seattle Dragons | |
| Mark Snyder | Minnesota, 1996: defensive ends coach | Marshall, Shawnee State | |
| Tim Rose | Minnesota, 1996: defensive coordinator | Miami (OH) |
Other assistants under him (2)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Noel Mazzone | TCU, 1987–91: quarterbacks coach; Minnesota, 1992–94: quarterbacks coach | |
| Marc Dove | Minnesota, 1992–95: defensive coordinator |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.