| Jim Bracken |
|
|
Jim Bracken recently completed his 23rd season as the head coach of the Cal State Northridge men's golf team in 2008-09.
This season, the Matadors posted three top-five finishes including their first-ever win at Northridge's own Bill Cullum Invitational in October. The Matadors also finished third at the Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational and the Anteater Invitational at UC Irvine. Northridge, seeded fourth in the eight-team Big West Championships, finished with a three-round score of 891 and placed sixth.
In eight seasons in the Big West Conference, Bracken has led the Matadors to a pair of third-place finishes (2004, 2008) and Northridge was also fourth in 2006.
Bracken led the Matadors to their only Division I conference championship, when Northridge won the Big Sky Conference title in 2000 by finishing with a three-round team score of two-over-par 866. The Matadors then went on to finish 17th at the NCAA Regionals, their first appearance in the Regionals since 1992-93.
In Bracken's 22 seasons, Northridge has produced nine All-Americans and has had 25 golfers named all-conference since the 1996-97 season.
Bracken, who was named head coach in 1986, has guided his alma mater to three District 8 championships, four appearances in the NCAA Division II championships and one appearance in the NCAA Division I championships. The three-time District 8 Coach of the Year (1987-89) led the Matadors to a third-place trophy at the NCAA Division II championships in 1990, the program's last season at the Division II level. Northridge also has NCAA finishes of third in 1989, fifth in 1987 and eighth in 1988.
A 1980 graduate of Cal State Northridge with a bachelor's degree in commercial recreation, Bracken played for the school's golf program during the 1978 and 1979 seasons. His career low round was 70, shot in the Matadors' victory over Cal Poly Pomona on Feb. 9, 1979. Bracken was 3-0 in 1978 and 4-2 in 1979 for the Matadors in match play. His best tournament was a 152 at the 1979 UC Riverside Invitational.
Bracken was voted all-league in golf and basketball at James Monroe High School, graduating in 1975 before earning his associate of arts degree at Los Angeles Valley College in 1978.
After college, Bracken's playing experience includes winning the Oxnard City Championship and a fourth-place finish at the Ventura County Championship in 1991. He also was a qualifier for the 1987 U.S. Amateur, the 1985 Low Amateur at the California State Open and a quarterfinalist for the Pacific Northwest Amateur Championship in 1985.
Bracken, born in Los Angeles on Jan. 16, 1957, has been an active member in the Southern California Golf Association, the Southern California Public Links Golf Association and is co-chairman of the Ben Graham Memorial Scholarship at Cal State Northridge.
He resides in Granada Hills with his wife Kim and two daughters, Hallie and Carly. He also owns a pool cleaning business and is a former child actor.
