James Lynah (1881 – February 24, 1956) was an American businessman and sports administrator who is considered the principal founder of the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Lynah Rink is named in his honor.
Early years
1904 Cornell varsity football team: Lynah is the 2nd from the right.
After graduation, Lynah worked for DuPont for fifteen years, becoming a plant manager during World War I. He went on to work at General Motors from 1922 to 1929, serving as director of purchasing and manufacturing staff.
Cornell athletics
An active alumnus of Cornell University, he was involved in many alumni committees, was chairman of a committee for the development of the College of Engineering and was a member of the College of Engineering Council.[2]
He succeeded graduate manager of athletics Romeyn Berry as the first director of athletics at Cornell University from 1935 to 1943. While serving as athletic director, Lynah led the movement to establish an athletic conference in the eastern United States. His efforts led to the creation of the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletics agency, which became the modern ECAC. Lynah was succeeded at Cornell by Robert Kane. He was one of the inaugural members of the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame.[3]
The ECAC created the James Lynah Distinguished Achievement Award in 1957 to recognize outstanding athletic administrators. Previous winners include Asa Bushnell (1959), Thomas J. Hamilton (1976) and Robert Kane (1977).[5]
