Wabash College Athletics

A dynamic, multi-talented athlete from Chicago’s Mount Carmel High School, Jim “Killer” Kilbane was recruited to Wabash by football coach Stan Parrish in the fall of 1980. A letterman as a freshman on the 1980 team that posted an 8-0-1 record, Kilbane broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore with intensity on the field and charisma off the field. Following an 8-1 season in 1981, Kilbane, as a junior, helped Wabash to a 10-0 season—the finest season in Wabash football history—and earned the Most Improved Defensive Player award on a team that finished the year ranked 5th in Division III. Perhaps Kilbane’s finest hour came in a 14-13 win over former NCAA III champion University of Dayton at Little Giant Stadium.
He was also honored at Awards Chapel with the Dean Stephens Award which is given to that junior who best represents Dean Stephens’ humane spirit and character. The following season, under new coach Greg Carlson, Kilbane captained the team, was the Most Valuable Defensive Player, and the team’s MVP. He set virtually every defensive record that year, including most tackles in a game (23), a season (151), and in a career (400)—all of which still stand as records today. In four years, Kilbane helped Wabash post a record of 31-5-1 with a dozen shutouts, and earned his affectionate nickname, “Killer.”