Jim McElderry is the head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights men’s soccer program and is in his seventh season leading the team during the 2025 fall campaign. He was named the seventh head coach in the 80-year history of Rutgers men’s soccer on December 8, 2018. Under McElderry’s leadership, the Scarlet Knights have experienced a resurgence highlighted by the program’s first-ever Big Ten Tournament Championship in 2022. That historic season included a 10-win campaign, the program’s highest Big Ten Tournament seed, record home crowds, and Rutgers’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015. McElderry was also part of the United Soccer Coaches North Region Staff of the Year in 2022, the first such honor in program history.
Prior to Rutgers, McElderry spent 16 seasons as head coach at Fordham, where he led the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances, two Atlantic 10 Championships, and a quarterfinal run in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the best postseason finish in school history. Across his career, McElderry has been widely recognized for excellence both on the field and in the classroom, with his teams consistently earning United Soccer Coaches Academic Team honors and maintaining a perfect graduation rate of four-year players for more than two decades. A former professional player, McElderry played collegiately at Fairfield University and later competed professionally in the A-League. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Fairfield, a master’s degree in teaching, and was inducted into the Fairfield Athletic Hall of Fame.
