Jim Poling

A member of the 2025 Posthumous Class, Poling excelled during a coaching career that spanned from 1979-2022, the last 20 of them coming at Army, while earning 516 career wins. In 2001, while coaching at Rollins, he led the Tars to the Division II national championship and was named the Wilson/ITA Division II National Coach of the Year the following spring. Poling was also a six-time Patriot League Coach of the Year and became Army’s all-time wins leader, passing Dr. Steve Strome (176 wins), in April 2015. Poling’s coaching career began with a one-year stint as men’s head coach at Mississippi State, before moving to oversee both the men’s and women’s tennis programs at South Alabama in 1980. Poling steered the Jaguar men to three straight Sun Belt Conference titles and was twice named the league’s coach of the year. During his third season at South Alabama, the Jaguars captured the National Independent Tournament and Poling was named the NIT Coach of the Year. He spent three years running both men’s and women’s tennis programs at Tulsa, earning Missouri Valley Coach of the Year honors in 1987, before moving on to Rollins in September of 1993. While at Army, Poling was recognized as a recipient of the Mike Krzyzewski Award for Excellence in Teaching Character Through Sport, presented each year to coaches and cadets who have shown outstanding commitment to the development of noble character through athletic participation and leadership. As a former student-athlete himself, Poling was a three-time letter winner at Clemson and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player as a junior. Following graduation, Polling spent two years serving in the Army where he earned a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam. Long before he was Army’s coach, Poling served in the Army for two years during the Vietnam war, earning a Bronze Star for his service. Poling died in July at age 75.