Jan. 29, 2010
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Former University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Director of Athletics James "Jim" Kehoe passed away recently at the age of 91. Kehoe served the school during the 1979-80 season.
Kehoe will perhaps be best remembered for helping to turn around the University of Maryland athletic teams in the 1970's. It was at UMES however, that Kehoe was hired to oversee the dissolving of the UMES football program.
"The short time I worked for him was a very educational experience," said Kirkland Hall, who was the Hawks men's basketball coach during Kehoe's tenure. "I learned a lot about scheduling and athletic administration."
During the 1979-80 season, Kehoe's only year at the helm of the department, the UMES men's basketball team went 16-9, gathering the program's highest single season winning percentage (64%) since the 1973-74 NIT tournament team. That mark still stands today.
Kehoe served as the Terrapins' athletic director since September 1969. During his tenure as the Terps' top administrator, he spearheaded a nine-year run that produced 40 Atlantic Coast Conference team championships, as compared to just 24 by runner-up North Carolina. Kehoe's legacy, however, was built largely upon his background first as an athlete, and later a Terrapin coach. After 18 months of military service in the South Pacific where he earned five service medals and a Bronze Star, he returned to his alma mater where he would guide the Terrapin track program to 48 Southern Conference and ACC conference titles. His teams captured all but one of the ACC indoor and outdoor championships during his 16 years in the league. He also produced eight cross country titles.
"Coach Kehoe led Maryland Athletics admirably for many years," said current director of athletics Deborah A. Yow. "He was a unique individual, full of life and drive. His contributions will always be remembered and appreciated."
At Maryland, he took over an athletic program that operated a $1.5 million budget with 12 varsity sports, and retired while leaving behind a program operating on a $3 million budget with 23 varsity teams.
In 1998, Kehoe was inducted into the United States Track Coaches Hall of Fame, after leading the Terrapins track teams to 15 ACC titles. Kehoe coached both the indoor and outdoor tracks teams for 16 years prior to his appointment as Maryland's A.D.
In 1989, Kehoe was hired as Mount St. Mary's athletic director so he could help ease the school's transition to Division I. He served for one year, then was a special consultant for two years.
He graduated from Bel Air High School and attended the University of Maryland where he was undefeated in dual-meet competition as an athlete. A star half-miler in high school, he set Terrapin school records in the two-mile and the half-mile. His half-mile mark of 1:50.7 remained unbroken for 23 years.
Kehoe graduated from Maryland in 1940, and in 1942, following a brief stint as a high school teacher and coach, began military service in World War II. Portions of this release appear compliments of Maryland Media Relations.
