General 12/10/2025 12:00:00 AM

Hall of Fame Inductee: Jim McGettigan

On Oct. 11, Penn State Abington (formerly Penn State Ogontz) announced the inaugural class of its new Athletics Hall of Fame in conjunction with the 75^th anniversary of the university honoring 10 legendary inductees. The announcement was made at halftime of the men's soccer game at Memorial Field with Abington Chancellor Dr. Gary Liguori and Director of Athletics, Intramurals & Recreation Erin Foley. Click here for official announcement.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Philmont Country Club. Registration and cocktail hour begins at 2 p.m. with the ceremony beginning at 3 p.m. The event is open to the public. Ticket sales will end on Jan. 1, 2026. To purchase tickets, click here.

We'll be featuring each inductee leading up to the induction ceremony in January. Today, we highlight the coaching career of Jim McGettigan, the first-ever men's soccer head coach at Penn State Abington/Ogontz.

Our next Hall of Fame feature highlights the legendary coaching career of men's soccer head coach Jim McGettigan who guided the Nittany Lions from 1968 to 1989. The program's first-ever head coach amassed 219 victories in his Hall of Fame career and holds a .750 winning percentage. Those 219 triumphs are still tops today in the men's soccer record book.

"It's hard to know what my dad [Jim] would say to [being inducted into the Hall of Fame]," said Jim's son Joe McGettigan. "He never really seemed to put himself out as 'an expert', 'a mentor', 'a leader', etc. and yet over the years he was soundly proven to be all of them. He never really seemed to define himself by achievements like good teams, championships and books and yet he pursued them, obviously well. All of that leads me to this – while he was never a 'touchy-feely people person', I think the legacy of people that he moved through is what he would say is the greatest part of all of this. I think he would say that his induction is important, not solely because of awards and personal importance, but because of legacy. The things that are imparted in and to young people and the memories thereof. His legacy is important in many ways because he didn't really care about it. He just did it."

And did he ever. McGettigan's teams registered 19 winning seasons, including a program record 18 victories in 1983 and 1987. The 1987 squad finished 18-2-1 with the highest single season winning percentage (.928) which still stands to date.

Penn State Ogontz was 'Title Town' in the 1970's and 1980's. The men's soccer program, with McGettigan at the helm, won 15 Commonwealth Campus Athletic Conference (CCAC) championships, including a six-year run from 1977-1982. From 1977-1988, the team won 11 out of those 12 seasons.

In 1991, McGettigan received the prestige Robert J. Scannell Roll-of-Honor award which is given annually to an administrator, faculty, staff member or coach who has served campus athletic, intramural and recreational programs with distinction. McGettigan is one of five individuals from Abington to receive the honor since the awards inception in 1990. All five are part of the inaugural Hall of Fame class.

Off the field, McGettigan was a Physical Education professor at Ogontz until 1992. He also wrote and published two books on soccer training that are still in circulation and used by coaches across the country today. The Complete Book of Drills for Winning Soccer (Published in 1980) and Soccer Drills for Individual and Team Play (Published in 1987).

McGettigan passed away in 2010, but his legacy continues still to this day. The Athletic Department's Coach of the Year award is named in his honor and is given annually at the end of the year awards banquet.

Tickets for the inaugural Penn State Abington/Ogontz Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony are currently on sale. The Hall of Fame event will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Philmont Country Club. The ceremony will celebrate the achievements of 10 individuals who laid the foundation of Penn State Abington/Ogontz athletics. Registration and cocktail hour begins at 2 p.m. with the ceremony beginning at 3 p.m. The event is open to the public. Ticket sales will end on Jan. 1, 2026. To purchase tickets, click here.

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