Jim Paronto

Jim Paronto

Biographical details
Born	(1943-04-25)April 25, 1943 Grand Junction, Colorado, U.S.
Died	December 11, 2023(2023-12-11) (aged 80)
Playing career
Football
1961	Pepperdine
1962–1965	Adams State
Position(s)	Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1966	Palm Springs HS (CA) (backfield)
1967–1972	Monte Vista HS (CO)
1973–1976	Adams State (DC)
1977–1980	Adams State
1981–1982	BYU (GA)
1983–1984	BYU (ILB)
1985	Oregon State (RB)
1986	Oregon State (ST/RB)
1987–1989	Central HS (CO)
1990–1993	Mesa State
Baseball
1974–1976	Adams State
Head coaching record
Overall	41–43 (college football)
Bowls	0–1
Tournaments	Football 2–1 (NAIA D-I playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football 2 RMAC (1980, 1990)
Awards
Baseball NAIA District Coach of the Year (1974)

James F. Paronto (April 25, 1943 – December 11, 2023) is a former baseball and American football player, coach, and official. He served at the head football coach at Adams State College—now known as Adams State University—from 1977 to 1980 and at Mesa State College—now known as Colorado Mesa University—from 1990 to 1993, compiling a career college football coaching record of 41–43. He is the father of Kris Paronto.

Playing career

Paronto played quarterback at Adams State, graduating in 1966 and serving as team captain in 1965. He earned accolades of Academic All-Conference, Second Team Academic All-American, and Second Team All-Conference. While at Adams State, he also played on the school's baseball team.

Coaching career

Paronto was the 14th head football coach at Adams State College—now known as Adams State University—in Alamosa, Colorado and he held that position for four seasons, from 1977 until 1980. His coaching record at Adams State was 22–19. At Adams State, he was named NAIA District Coach of the Year in 1974. He later became the head coach of the Colorado Mesa Mavericks football program from 1990 to 1993. While at Mesa, his teams accumulated a record of 19 wins and 24 losses and won their conference championship in 1990.

Paronto also coached as an assistant at Brigham Young University (BYU) and Oregon State

Sports administration and officiating

In July 2003, Paronto was named the coordinator of baseball umpires for the Mountain West Conference. In addition to his baseball officiating, Paronto worked in the Western Athletic Conference as a basketball official and was selected in 1982 as an alternate in a regional postseason game. He also was Secretary Rules Editor for the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee (2003–2015) and officiated baseball for over 40 years. He worked the National Junior College World Series 15 times took various on-field assignments in several conference championships.

Head coaching record

College football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Adams State Indians (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (1977–1980)
1977	Adams State	3–7	3–6	6th
1978	Adams State	6–4	5–3	T–2nd
1979	Adams State	5–5	4–4	T–4th
1980	Adams State	8–3	7–1	T–1st
Adams State:		22–19	19–14
Mesa State Mavericks (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (1990–1993)
1990	Mesa State	8–4	4–0	1st	L NAIA Division I Championship
1991	Mesa State	3–7	3–3	T–3rd
1992	Mesa State	3–8	3–4	5th
1993	Mesa State	5–5	5–2	T–2nd
Mesa State:		19–24	15–9
Total:		41–43
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth