ECU Mourns The Passing Of Hall Of Fame Athlete Jim Bolding
April 23, 2025 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Jim Bolding, an East Carolina Athletics Hall of Famer, two-time All-America selection and a member of the "Wild Dogs" defense, passed away on Monday, April 20, he was 70.
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Bolding came to ECU by way of Jamestown, N.C. in 1973 making an immediate impact on the Pirates defense where he intercepted a then school record seven passes (84 yards) while leading the team with 20 punt returns for 164 yards. A member of the Southern Conference Championship squad, he earned honorable mention all-conference honors and received the Outstanding Freshman Award.
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He followed up his outstanding freshman campaign earning the first of three consecutive All-Southern Conference accolades starting all 11 contests where he intercepted a pair of passes (four yards) and returned 17 punts for 110 yards.
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Bolding's junior season was one for the record books as he earned inclusion on three All-America teams (Associated Press/second team, RECAP/second team, and Football Weekly/third team), earned all-conference honors and set three school records, which included interceptions in a game (3 vs. Western Carolina), interceptions in a season (10 leading the nation) and interceptions in a career (22). Helping the Pirates to an 8-3 overall record, he was named ECU's Outstanding Player after tallying 47 tackles, forcing a pair of fumbles, picking off 10 passes for 51 yards while adding five pass breakups.
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The future hall of famer closed out his collegiate career helping ECU to its second Southern Conference Championship in four years after posting a 9-2 overall record and going 4-1 in league play. Bolding recorded 44 stops with two forced fumbles, three interceptions (no yards) and seven pass breaks. He once again earned all-conference honors and was named a Newspaper Enterprise Association All-American, while also being named as an honorable mention All-American by a second media association. Following his career, he was selected to play in the 1976 American Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
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Bolding earned is undergraduate degree in business administration in 1977 and later became a high school football coach while working in the telecommunications and agriculture professions. As a four-time letterwinner (1973-76), he was inducted into the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 and was named to the Southern Conference 100th Anniversary Team in 2021.
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Bolding came to ECU by way of Jamestown, N.C. in 1973 making an immediate impact on the Pirates defense where he intercepted a then school record seven passes (84 yards) while leading the team with 20 punt returns for 164 yards. A member of the Southern Conference Championship squad, he earned honorable mention all-conference honors and received the Outstanding Freshman Award.
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He followed up his outstanding freshman campaign earning the first of three consecutive All-Southern Conference accolades starting all 11 contests where he intercepted a pair of passes (four yards) and returned 17 punts for 110 yards.
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Bolding's junior season was one for the record books as he earned inclusion on three All-America teams (Associated Press/second team, RECAP/second team, and Football Weekly/third team), earned all-conference honors and set three school records, which included interceptions in a game (3 vs. Western Carolina), interceptions in a season (10 leading the nation) and interceptions in a career (22). Helping the Pirates to an 8-3 overall record, he was named ECU's Outstanding Player after tallying 47 tackles, forcing a pair of fumbles, picking off 10 passes for 51 yards while adding five pass breakups.
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The future hall of famer closed out his collegiate career helping ECU to its second Southern Conference Championship in four years after posting a 9-2 overall record and going 4-1 in league play. Bolding recorded 44 stops with two forced fumbles, three interceptions (no yards) and seven pass breaks. He once again earned all-conference honors and was named a Newspaper Enterprise Association All-American, while also being named as an honorable mention All-American by a second media association. Following his career, he was selected to play in the 1976 American Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
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Bolding earned is undergraduate degree in business administration in 1977 and later became a high school football coach while working in the telecommunications and agriculture professions. As a four-time letterwinner (1973-76), he was inducted into the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 and was named to the Southern Conference 100th Anniversary Team in 2021.
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