Leo is pleased to welcome Jim Prunty to the staff as Vice President for Athletics. Noah Cannon ’95 remains Leo’s athletic director.
A veteran coach and administrator, Jim’s ties to the Chicago Catholic League span 47 years. He had been consulting with Leo on an informal basis, and over the summer Leo approached him about formalizing the arrangement as part of an overall athletic department upgrade, dictated by a substantial enrollment increase.
“In the last few years we’ve added wrestling and golf, and we’re considering further expansion as interest warrants,” Leo President Dan McGrath said. “Plus we have some first-time head coaches who can use some guidance on the administrative demands of their jobs. With his experience and know-how, Jim is an ideal guy to help us move forward and modernize. We’re delighted that he has agreed to join us and work with Noah Cannon and all of us.”
A Brother Rice graduate and a former president of both the Catholic League and the Catholic League Coaches Association, Jim oversaw one of the Catholic League’s most extensive athletic programs as athletic director at St. Ignatius College Prep. He served in similar roles at Brother Rice and Lockport Township. His coaching resume includes two Catholic League basketball championships at St. Rita, plus a stop at York High School in Elmhurst and stints as an assistant under Leo Hall of Famer Tom O’Malley at St. Xavier and Mike McGrath at the University of Chicago.
He is a member of the Catholic League Hall of Fame, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, the St. Rita Hall of Fame and the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. Jim has been married to his wife Maureen for 48 years. They have three children and nine grandchildren.
“I’m looking forward to working with the staff at Leo and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he said.