Jim Svoboda (born June 23, 1960)[1] is an American football coach and former player. He most recently served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tulane University for the 2022 season, where the team went 12-2 and won the 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic (January). Svoboda served as the head football coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) from 1987 to 1993 and the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri from 2010 to 2021. While at Nebraska Wesleyan, Svoboda won three Great Plains Athletic Conference championships (1988–1990), and advanced to the NAIA playoffs three times between 1988 and 1991.[2] After coaching at NWU, Svoboda was the offensive coordinator at Northwest Missouri State University for 10 seasons, three of which the team won the NCAA Division II Football Championship.[3] While serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UCLA, Svoboda was a 2005 finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 23, 1960 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Northwestern College |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1983 | Northwestern (IA) (RB) |
| 1984 | Dana (RB) |
| 1985 | Eastern New Mexico (RB) |
| 1986 | Nebraska Wesleyan (RB) |
| 1987–1993 | Nebraska Wesleyan |
| 1994–2003 | Northwest Missouri State (OC/QB) |
| 2004–2006 | UCLA (OC/QB) |
| 2007–2009 | Montana State (QB) |
| 2010–2021 | Central Missouri |
| 2022 | Tulane (OC/QB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 137–62 |
| Bowls | 2–1 |
| Tournaments | 0–3 (NAIA D-II playoffs) 3–3 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 NIAC (1988–1990) 1 MIAA (2019) | |
Head coaching record
| Year | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska Wesleyan Plainsmen (Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Conference / Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference) (1987–1993) | |||||||||
| 1987 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 6–4 | 3–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1988 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 8–2 | 5–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1989 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 10–2 | 5–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division II Second Round | ||||
| 1990 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 7–2 | 4–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 1991 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 8–3 | 4–1 | 2nd | L NAIA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1992 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 6–3 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1993 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 7–3 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
| Nebraska Wesleyan: | 52–19 | 29–8 | |||||||
| Central Missouri Mules (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) (2010–present) | |||||||||
| 2010 | Central Missouri | 11–3 | 8–1 | 2nd | L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 2011 | Central Missouri | 8–4 | 6–3 | 5th | L Kanza | ||||
| 2012 | Central Missouri | 6–4 | 6–4 | 7th | |||||
| 2013 | Central Missouri | 6–4 | 5–4 | 7th | |||||
| 2014 | Central Missouri | 8–4 | 7–4 | 4th | W Live United Texarkana | ||||
| 2015 | Central Missouri | 8–3 | 8–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2016 | Central Missouri | 9–3 | 9–2 | 3rd | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| 2017 | Central Missouri | 9–3 | 8–3 | 3rd | W Mineral Water | ||||
| 2018 | Central Missouri | 5–6 | 5–6 | T–4th | |||||
| 2019 | Central Missouri | 11–2 | 10–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division II Second Round | ||||
| 2020–21 | No team—COVID-19 | ||||||||
| 2021 | Central Missouri | 4–7 | 4–7 | T–8th | |||||
| Central Missouri: | 86–43 | 76–38 | |||||||
| Total: | 137–62 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||