James Kretchman is a native of Faulkton, S.D. He first started his Northern experience as a scholar athlete in the 1950's. While playing football under Coach Clark Swisher Coach Kretchman earned Little All-American honors and he is still amongst the top of the record books as Northern State. Coach Kretchman graduated with his Bachelor's degree in 1956 and a Master's degree in 1958 from NSU.
Coach Kretchman gained early coaching experience at the high school level as he coached at Clark, Leola, Webster, and Aberdeen Central. He gained college experience while a graduate assistant at Northern State and the University of Wyoming. Coach Kretchman earned his Doctorate at the University of Wyoming in 1967, and that same year he accepted a position as an assistant coach in football, wrestling and track at Northern.
In 1968 Coach Kretchman accepted the position of head football coach at Northern State from his former coach Clark Swisher. In his rookie season as head coach he guided the Wolves to a perfect record and his football teams went on to win 67 games in his 12 years as head coach. Coach Kretchman became the athletic director in 1980 and continued to coach until 1985. Coach retired from NSU in 1999.
Coach Kretchman received many awards and honors, including being inducted to NSU's athletic hall of fame
in 1976 and was named the alumni coach of the year in 1968. In the spring of 1989 Kretchman was named the NAIA District 12 Administrator of the Year in recognition of his work during the 1987-88 academic year. Coach Kretchman added another honor to his list of accomplishments in the spring of 1993 when he was inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Kretchman dedicated 32 years to higher education in South Dakota and has been an outstanding mentor and coach for countless student athletes that attended NSU. Coach Kretchman and his wife Bonnie, have three children, Jeff, Amy, and Jill.
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