Bachelor of Arts, Boston University, 1996
Jim Granger is in his 16th year as head coach of the Florida Tech men’s rowing program.
Granger and the Panthers added another Dad Vail win under their belt in 2022. The Heavyweight 4+ showed an impressive pace in the final speeding the course and crossing the final buoy with the fastest time of the weekend at 6:12.664, more than three seconds ahead of runner-up La Salle (6:16.240) and third-place Oklahoma City (6:20.380). This was the first win of the Thomas A Curran Cup since 2013.
In 2015, he guided the varsity eight to the program’s third Dad Vail Regatta Championship and its first in the event in 27 years. The crew won the race in thrilling fashion, rowing through Michigan in the last 40 meters behind a stroke rating of 48. The Panthers’ winning time was 5:37.169 to the Wolverines’ 5:37.925.
The crew’s impressive run didn’t stop in Philadelphia. At the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, the 17th-ranked Panthers upset No. 14 Stanford, No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 16 Oregon State. They finished 14th in the country and second in the ‘C’ Final. That finish was one spot better than the crew’s previous best finish at the IRA Championships under Granger, earned in 2014.
Prior to the Dad Vail win, FIT had earned silver in the varsity eight in three of the last four years dating back to 2011. The only year the Panthers did not earn a silver medal was in 2013 when they were awarded bronze.
FIT has consistently fielded one of the best varsity eight crews in the South. Over the last seven years, the Panthers have won the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship five times and finished second once. The team’s 2009 SIRA Championship was its first in 17 years and it marked the first of three straight titles in the event.
The varsity eight’s 2015 Dad Vail Regatta Championship was the program’s second Dad Vail gold medal won during Granger’s tenure. The first Dad Vail gold medal won under Granger was captured by the varsity four in 2013. The Panthers’ 9.5-second win was the program’s third gold medal in the event and first since 1995. The crew went on to finish seventh in the country by winning the petite final at the 2013 IRA Championships.
In 2011, the Panthers’ varsity eight was provided the opportunity to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta. It marked the first time a FIT boat raced at Henley since the lightweight eight competed in 1996. FIT beat Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club by 1 ¼ boat lengths in the first round of the Temple Cup and fell to Yale by half a boat-length in the second round.
Before Granger arrived at FIT, he served as a coach at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia from 2001-07. As the school’s varsity coach, he led the area’s largest rowing program to a combined record of 594 wins and 23 losses. Along with the impressive ledger, his teams consistently vied for championships at the state and national levels.
The native of Burke, Virginia helped the Colonials place first at the National Capital Area Championships in 2003-04. They went on to win the National and Stotesbury Championships in 2004 and 2006-07. In addition to the national honors, Thomas Jefferson won six straight Virginia State Championships from 2002-07.
Granger not only pitted his teams against the best squads in the country, but also the top teams in the world. In 2004 and 2006-07, he took his team to the Henley Royal Regatta. Following the 2004 season, he was named All-Met Coach of the Year by The Washington Post.
In his final two years in Virginia, Granger owned and operated the Cerulean Boat Club to serve the community’s need for junior and intermediate rowing programs.
Granger earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at Boston University and rowed four years for the Terriers.
