June 27, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University announced today that Jim McDaniels has joined the Alumni 
staff as special assistant to the executive director for the WKU Alumni Association. His responsibilities will include raising private support for WKU and expanding the lifetime membership endowment for the Alumni Association.
McDaniels—a three-time All-America selection—ranks as one of the best known of all former Hilltopper athletes. He is just one of three WKU basketball players to be recognized as a “consensus” All-America pick (as a senior in 1971). McDaniels was also the Ohio Valley Conference Player-of-the-Year both his junior and senior seasons. He holds WKU record for single season scoring (878 points) and is tied at the number-one spot for career scoring (2,238).
A product of Allen County High School in Scottsville, he is one of only three Hilltoppers ever to average 20 or more points a game for three seasons. His 27.6 career scoring average still ranks first in the WKU record books. As a senior, he was named the Most Valuable Player in both the prestigious ECAC Holiday Festival (leading the Toppers to runner-up honors) in New York’s Madison Square Garden and in the NCAA Mideast Regional Tournament in Athens, Ga.
He paced WKU to the championship of the NCAA Mideast Regional, gaining the 1971 Hilltoppers the school’s only appearance in the NCAA Final Four. At that Final Four, McDaniels led his teammates to a third-place finish after narrowly missing a berth in the national championship game following a double-overtime loss to Villanova. He was named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team. The 1970-’71 Hilltoppers will long be remembered as one of the most successful teams in the long and storied history of WKU athletics.
McDaniels was selected by Sporting News as one of the “100 Legends of College Basketball.” He was a member of the ABA All-Star team in 1972, and he enjoyed a 10-year professional basketball career that spanned two continents and two leagues. He has had various careers in sales and public relations since his professional playing days, and he leads basketball camps for children. He has also volunteered for WKU, the Salvation Army, and the United Way of Southern Kentucky. His No. 44 jersey was retired in 2000 and hangs in E.A. Diddle Arena.
“I have wanted to be back on the Hill for a long time and consider this an opportunity of a lifetime,” McDaniels said. “I am very thankful to everyone in the WKU family and am grateful to have been given the opportunity to help WKU. I am looking forward to working with everyone in Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, the Institutional Advancement Division, and most importantly, the entire WKU community.”
“We are excited to have Jim return to the Hill,” said Tom Hiles, WKU’s vice president for Institutional Advancement. “We know he will be an asset to our fund-raising efforts. He will also be a real draw at our alumni events.”
Donald Smith, WKU’s assistant vice president for Alumni Relations and Annual Giving and executive director of the Alumni Association, said he is excited to have McDaniels join the Alumni Association staff.
“He brings a wealth of experience from various careers and certainly has a great affinity for this institution,” Smith said. “Many of our alumni watched Jim dominate the hardwood in Diddle Arena, and this will provide him a perfect opportunity to reconnect with our graduates in an official capacity with the University. Jim gave a great deal of his time, energy, and devotion to WKU on the court many years ago and achieved great success, and we’re excited about the possibilities for the future as he applies the same dedication and work ethic to raising private support for WKU.”
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For more information, contact Donald Smith, (270) 745-4395.
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