Jim Hallihan was an influential and well respected member of the National Congress of State Games for nearly 20 years. 

After a successful career as a college basketball assistant coach at Virginia Tech, East Tennessee State and Iowa State, Jim retired from coaching and became Executive Director the Iowa Sports Foundation in 1994. 

Under Jim’s leadership, the Iowa Games thrived and grew from two events with 16,000 athletes to twenty events and programs with over 190,000 participants. During Jim’s tenure, the Iowa Games created health based initiatives including the Lighten Up Iowa program which became a model for other state games programs across the nation to help improve the health of participants. Jim also connected all state games programs to the Character Counts initiative to educate constituents on the elements and value of good character and sportsmanship. 

Jim was a mentor to many State Games Directors across the country as well as states just starting their programs, Always willing to provide resources, ideas or advice, Jim offered his support to all National Congress of State Games members regardless of regional or philosophical differences. 

Jim received multiple awards in recognition of his impact on state games including the National Congress of State Games Executive director of the Year Award in 2006 and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Sportsmanship Award. Since his passing in 2020, the Iowa Games have named their annual sportsmanship & character award in his honor. 

Download the Award Guide, which includes:

• Nominee Requirements
• Selection Criteria and Examples
• Nomination Process and Timeline
• Required Application Materials