In 1991, Trinity quarterback James Lane’92 was named Male Athlete of the Year by the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance. It was a prodigious year for Lane, who racked up several honors and awards, All-NESCAC First Team recognition, NESCAC and ECAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week twce apiece, and two appearances on the ECAC honor roll. He boasted the highest pass efficiency rating of any NESCAC quarterback for the second straight year. This was particularly impressive considering much od the early part his Trinity career hampered by injuries. Lane playing through an injured shoulder during his junior year, but still managed to complete 240 passes in 409 attempts for 3,109 yards and 29 touchdowns the last two autumns.
Lane cites the Trinity-Williams game in 1991 as one of his most enduring memories: “This was my 15 minutes of fame that is still referenced today… The last 42 seconds of this game was a total team effort. Three separate receivers caught passes during the drive and the offensive line provided excellent pass protection. The win snapped Williams consecutive win streak, which, at the time, was the longest in the nation.”
These days, Lane is still intimately involved in the fortunes of the Trinity football program, but in a much more behind-the-scenes manner than 20 years ago. The President of the Trinity Touchdown Club, Lane considers this leadership position an honor. The Touchdown Club was formed in 2001 under former Trinity Head Coach Chuck Priore, and has continued to flourish during the tenure of current Coach Jeff Devanney. Lane hopes to lay the groundwork to establish a football endowment.
The Touchdown Club’s biggest annual event is a golf tournament, the proceeds of which go toward the operating budget of the football program – and make no mistake, Lane has high aspirations for fundraising efforts.
“Hopefully someday it will allow Coach Devanney and his staff to spend less time raising funds for the program and more time focusing their efforts on the field and developing the student-athletes into great individuals and ambassadors for Trinity College.”
Lane feels immense gratitude to his alma mater, noting that he has great friendships with decades of Trinity alumni and even met his wife here. The opportunity to play football for Trinity is one that Lane cherishes enormously:.
“I truly believe that football is the greatest team sport,” he said. “It teaches you how to interact with all kinds of people and personalities.” In an effort to pass on his love for the sport beyond the bounds of Trinity, Lane has coached youth football in Wilton, Conn., and has served on that organization’s board. Though Lane is currently on sabbatical from his role as a coach to spend more time with his young son, he plans to return to coaching soon.
While coaching youth football, Lane carries Trinity blue and gold with him, remembering practices and games under the tutelage of storied Bantam Head Coach Don Miller.
“Coach Miller was an exceptional offensive coach. The way he developed a game plan each week was uncanny. He allowed the quarterbacks to run the offense on game day and call the majority of our plays from the field. In order to realize the success we had on game day, he spent a tremendous amount of time each week preparing us and making sure we had a game plan that would be successful.”
Lane’s efforts coaching youth football might be the first step for the next generation of Trinity athletes, and his efforts with the Trinity Touchdown Club are an invaluable service to those in the program right now. Trinity College football is blessed with involved and dedicated alumni, and nobody more so than James Lane.