June 13, 2006

Jim Board began his lifelong love of the game of basketball while attending a small Catholic high school in Southern Indiana.

As his talents progressed, he decided to take a shot at the collegiate level where he attended St. Edward's University in Austin, TX, for two seasons before transferring to Pan American College in 1962. Once Board came to the Rio Grande Valley almost 45 years ago, he would never leave.

Board brought his skills and knowledge of basketball to Pan American and played for the Broncs for a pair of seasons under legendary coach Sam Williams from 1963-53. Board was a starter for a Pan American squad that finished as the NAIA National Finalist in 1963-64 where the Broncs recorded a 28-6 record.

In his two seasons with the squad, Board was a NAIA Honorable Mention All-American selection following the 1963-64 season and capped of his career averaging 9.7 points per game to go along with 582 total points. Board shot 82.4 percent from the free throw line and ended his career connecting on 42.5 percent of his shots from the floor.

"It was a super great experience having the opportunity to play for Coach Sam Williams, and it was great going to the national tournament and having the chance to be on a team with a number of tremendous players, such as Luke Jackson. Naturally, I got an education from Sam Williams, and I will forever be appreciative of that opportunity," said Board.

While Board was a senior at Pan American College, he found some spare time when not in the classroom or on the court and was offered a position with Jefferson Pilot Insurance where he worked part-time. In 1965, Board started working for the insurance company full-time and 40 years later, he hasn't left the Rio Grande Valley-based company.

"I've been in the insurance business since 1965, and it looks like I'm going to die in the insurance business. When they were still playing news reels during the movies, I saw where it was snowing up north, and I knew that I was never leaving here," Board added.

Since he graduated from Pan American College, Board has supported the Broncs and Lady Broncs in a number of ways, but at the beginning, it was mainly through attendance. Currently, he is a member of the Bronc Basketball Alumni Association and spends his free time raising money for the Sam Williams Scholarship that he founded. Within the last year, Board has played a major role in the Las Vegas Fundraising Extravaganza as well as the Pan Am Golf Classic.

"Dr. Ben Garza really encouraged me to give back to UTPA, and I couldn't tell Ben `no.' For the last six years, I've been working closely with the University and Athletic Department in some fundraising efforts, and I'm really happy that Dr. Ben pushed me to do this because it's been great," said Board.

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