CONWAY, Ark. (June 19, 2013) – After 31 years, Jim Kelly is stepping down as the
head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach at Hendrix College. Also a professor
in the Kinesiology Department, Kelly retires after a historic career, having won
numerous conference and national honors.
During his tenure, Kelly coached one national champion, 80 All-Americans as well
as several conference champions and All-Conference selections. The Warriors also
succeeded in the classroom under Kelly’s watch. His women's squad at Hendrix won
the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American
Team Awards for 50 consecutive semesters - every semester since the award was introduced
in 1988. The men's teams won the award for 48 consecutive semesters. Kelly was inducted
in the Hendrix College Sports Hall of Honor in 2005 and the Arkansas Swimming Hall
of Fame in 2007. In 2013, he received the Elijah Pitts Award, given for lifetime
achievement to Conway athletics.
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Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts
and sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of
the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report.
Hendrix is featured in the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country’s
best 377 colleges, the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools
That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's
annual list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the Fiske Guide
to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since
1884. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.