Jim Fleming Joins Kent State Coaching Staff

KENT, Ohio — Kent State head football coach Doug Martin announced Tuesday the hiring of Jim Fleming as an assistant coach for the Golden Flashes. Fleming, who will be starting his 25th year of collegiate coaching, served on the staff with Martin at East Carolina from 1994-97.

Fleming will work with Kent State’s linebacker corps. He replaces Craig Aukerman, who recently joined the Denver Broncos coaching staff as a defensive assistant.

“Jim brings a wealth of experience to our staff,” Martin said. “Having been in the MAC East for the last six years, he knows the teams we’re going to play and he knows what we have to do to win. We definitely hit a home run by adding him to our staff.

“Having spent four years together at East Carolina, I already know exactly what I’m getting with Jim. He’s a proven coach with tremendous experience in this league and elsewhere.”

Most recently, Fleming spent six seasons as Akron’s defensive coordinator in addition to working with the Zips’ safeties. Under his tutelage in 2009, Akron’s defense produced four All-MAC honorees, including the league’s second-leading tackler in redshirt freshman Brian Wagner and just the program’s second three-time All-MAC honoree in junior Almondo Sewell. In 2007, the defense had five representatives on the All-MAC squads. His units at Akron consistently performed among the nation’s best, ranking 32nd in total defense in 2005 (when the Zips claimed their first-ever MAC Championship and bowl bid), 28th in turnover margin in 2008 and 31st in pass defense this past season.

Prior to Akron, Fleming spent two years (2002-03) as the defensive backs coach at North Carolina.

That stint came after two seasons as the head coach of Sacred Heart, a Division I-AA school in Connecticut, where he led the Pioneers to a 21-1 record, including a perfect 11-0 mark in 2001 that earned the Sports Network’s Division I-AA mid-major national championship. During their championship run, the Pioneers ranked second in the nation in scoring, pass efficiency and turnover margin, fourth in total defense and seventh in scoring defense and passing yards allowed. Fleming was named the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year in 2000 and ‘01 after Sacred Heart won only two games in the season prior to his arrival. In his first season at the school he led a turnaround from 2-9 in 1999, to 10-1 and a No. 5 national ranking in 2000.

A native of New York, N.Y., Fleming also spent two years as defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach at Villanova (1998-99) and four years (1994-97) coaching linebackers (1994) and defensive backs (1995-97) at East Carolina. His 1997 squad ranked second in Conference USA in pass defense, while in 1995, the Pirates finished 9-3 and earned a berth in the Liberty Bowl where they defeated Stanford, 19-13. That season, the ECU defense ranked seventh nationally in pass efficiency defense, producing 33 takeaways and 19 interceptions.

Fleming spent the 1993 campaign as the defensive coordinator at Brown where the team went from 0-10 and last place in the Ivy League, to 4-6 and a tie for fourth place in the conference. From 1987-92, he had a successful six-year stretch at Boise State, including the final three seasons as defensive coordinator. His 1991 Broncos’ defense led the nation in rushing defense and was third in turnover margin, and led the Big Sky Conference in every statistical category. In 1990, BSU finished 10-4 and advanced to the semifinals of the Division I-AA playoffs, leading the conference in scoring defense.

Fleming is a 1982 graduate of the University of the South with a degree in English. While there, he was a four-year starter in football and baseball, earning all-conference honors as a tight end in 1981. Fleming began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at South Carolina in 1985.

He and his wife, Leslie, have four children, Jimmy (21), Will (20), Kate (18) and Meg (15).

The Fleming File
Birthdate: September 23, 1959
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Alma Mater: University of the South, 1982 (B.A. English)
Family: Wife, Leslie; children, Jimmy (21), Will (20), Kate (18), Meg (15)
Playing Experience: TE, University of the South (1978-81)
Fleming’s Coaching History
1985: South Carolina, graduate assistant
1987-92: Boise State, defensive coordinator
1993: Brown, defensive coordinator
1994-97: East Carolina, linebackers (1994) & defensive backs (1995-97)
1998-99: Villanova, defensive coordinator/defensive backs
2000-01: Sacred Heart, head coach
2002-03: North Carolina, defensive backs
2004-09: Akron, defensive coordinator/secondary

News Release By:  Alan Ashby, Kent State Athletic Media Relations