Highlights
- Jim McMahon won the Davey O’Brien, Sammy Baugh and was named a Consensus All-American in 1981
- He set 75 NCAA career records and led the NCAA in total offense and passing in 1980 and 1981
- McMahon finished third (1981) and fifth (1980) in the Heisman voting
- He was a first round draft pick (5th overall) of the Chicago Bears in 1982 and played 16 NFL seasons
- He led the Bears to a Super Bowl title in 1986 and later won another ring with Green Bay in 1996
- He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
Personal
- Born in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Parents are Jim and Roberta
- Brother Mike wrestled at Weber State
- Majoring in public relations.
Before BYU
- A three-sport letterman at Roy High
- Was all-region, all-state and all-intermountain
- Averaged around 45 yards per punt
- Was scholar-athlete award winner prep All-American for Adidas, Joe Namath and Coach and Athlete
- Was team MVP
- Roy was undefeated 20-0 for his last two years
- Coached by Ernest Jacklin (BYU).
Summary
- Broke 75 NCAA Records (37 on total offense and 38 in passing)
- Drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round
- Career pass efficiency rating of 156.9 in 44 games
- Broke 23 school records and set 29 WAC records
- Missed only three games (USU and UNLV in 1981 and Hawai`i in 1978)
- Presented the Dale Rex Award in 1982 by BYU
Stats
| Career | Passing | Receiving | Rushing | Sacked | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | GP | COMP | ATT | YDS | Y/A | PCT | LNG | INT | TD | EFFIC | REC | YDS | Y/R | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | Y/A | LNG | TD | NO | YDS | NO | LOST |
| 1981 | 13 | 299 | 466 | 3897 | 8.36 | 0.64 | 67 | 7 | 33 | 154.77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | -120 | -1.58 | 17 | 0 | 22 | 157 | 7 | 1 |
| 1980 | 13 | 316 | 494 | 5017 | 10.16 | 0.64 | 80 | 19 | 51 | 175.65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 56 | 0.53 | 34 | 6 | 35 | 226 | 3 | 2 |
| 1978 | 12 | 87 | 176 | 1305 | 7.41 | 0.49 | 71 | 8 | 6 | 113.88 | 1 | 7 | 7.00 | 7 | 0 | 99 | 248 | 2.51 | 56 | 4 | 19 | 124 | 4 | 1 |
| 1977 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 103 | 6.44 | 0.63 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 124.70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -20 | -2.86 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| TOTALS: | 48 | 712 | 1152 | 10322 | 8.96 | 0.62 | 80 | 35 | 91 | 157.06 | 1 | 7 | 7.00 | 7 | - | 287 | 164 | 0.57 | 56 | 10 | 76 | 507 | 17 | 6 |
| Games | Punting | Kicking | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kickoffs | Field Goals | PAT | PTS | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | GP | Punt | YDS | AVG | LNG | IN20 | 50+ | FC | TB | BLK | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | OB | FGM | FGA | PCT | LNG | BLK | XPM | XPA | PCT | PTS |
| 1981 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | 13 | 9 | 272 | 30.22 | 47 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | 12 | 41 | 1603 | 39.10 | 58 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977 | 10 | 43 | 1661 | 38.63 | 58 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS: | 48 | 93 | 3536 | 38.02 | 58 | 21 | 6 | 22 | 9 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2014 BYU Hall of Fame
Jim McMahon arrived at BYU in the fall of 1977 and finished his career in 1981 with an astonishing 70 NCAA football records. In his final two seasons as a Cougar, McMahon threw for 8,126 yards and 77 touchdowns. He led the nation in numerous offensive categories both years, including passing yards, total offense and touchdown passes. He was first-team All-America as a junior in 1980, and was a consensus choice as a senior in 1981.
At the conclusion of his senior season, McMahon won the inaugural Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and the Sammy Baugh Trophy. He was named NCAA Co-Offensive Player of the Year along with Marcus Allen of USC and finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. From 1977-81 he was part of five-consecutive WAC championship teams (redshirted in 1979) and was a three-time All-WAC First Team quarterback in 1978, 1980 and 1981.
McMahon will forever be known as the quarterback who led the Cougars to 21 points in the last 2:33 minutes of the 1980 Holiday Bowl to defeat SMU 46-45, and give BYU its first bowl victory. McMahon was named Offensive MVP of the 1980 and 1981 Holiday Bowls.
Following a historic career at BYU, McMahon was the fifth player selected in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft — the highest Cougar ever taken. McMahon was drafted by the Bears and played seven seasons in Chicago, leading them to the Super Bowl title in 1986. He played 16 seasons in the NFL for seven teams and won two Super Bowl rings. McMahon was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
McMahon has also been very active in civic service with the Jim McMahon Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network, Jim McMahon Ronald McDonald House Golf Tournament, Juvenile Diabetes Fund, American Cancer Society, Society for the Prevention of Blindness, Think First Foundation for Children and BYU Y-Quarterback Weekend. In 2006, McMahon traveled to Iraq with the USO Supporting Freedom program to visit American forces in the field.