Note: This is the second of a four-part series on Rose-Hulman's 100 seasons of men's basketball.  The John Mutchner Era will be summarized on Jan. 24, with the current Jim Shaw era featured Jan. 31.

TERRE HAUTE, IND. - Jim Carr spent 28 years of his coaching and teaching life helping Rose Poly and Rose-Hulman turn into a nationally competitive NCAA Division III basketball and overall athletics program.

Carr coached virtually every sport at Rose-Hulman in his 28-year career at the college. His efforts helped bring seven consecutive winning seasons to the Engineer men's basketball program in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Carr ranks third on Rose-Hulman's all-time list for men's basketball coaching victories with 114 and seventh in winning percentage at .430.

"Jim Carr was not a great coach, if you based that on number of games won or winning percentages.  But to we who played for Jim or knew him, he was a great coach.  More importantly, he was a great man.  He taught us basketball and by his actions he showed us what it was to be a man, in the true sense of the word.  He appeared to be laid back, but he was intensely competitive and that was transmitted to us in our loyalty.  We wanted nothing more than to have his approval and wanted nothing less than to disappoint him," said Engineer alumnus Hal Brown.

Carr's teams began the turnaround of Rose Poly basketball with the first double-digit winning season in 30 years during the 1952-53 campaign.  The Fightin' Engineers finished 15-4 during that season, including a then school record 7-1 start.  Rose Poly then closed the season with seven wins in their last eight games, highlighted 95 point performance in the finale against Greenville.

Another solid season of Rose Poly basketball continued in 1953-54, as the Engineers finished with a 14-6 mark.  The Engineers again closed the season in style, winning five of their last six games.

The winning ways continued for the next four seasons, as the Engineers compiled winning seasons from 1954-58.  He later turned the basketball program over to John Mutchner, who wrote his own 25-year chapter of success in the record book.

Carr passed away on Dec. 3, 2007, at age 94.  The college has begun a Memorial Scholarship Drive in honor of Coach Carr.  Interested donors can visit the Annual Fund website and designate your gift to the Jim Carr Scholarship Fund.