James S. Coukos ’55
12/14/1931 – 11/22/2003

James S. Coukos ’55 led the Brown Club of Southwest Florida for 8 years prior to his untimely death in November 2003. Jim and his wife Carolyn retired to Florida in 1994 from Indianapolis where Jim had been actively involved with the Indiana Brown Club, serving as its president for 10 years.

When Jim and Carolyn arrived in Southwest Florida, they sought out local Brown alums and quickly connected with the Southwest Florida Brown Club. Jim reinvigorated the Club and became its President, a position he held until he died.

Jim was a loyal and active Brown alum for almost 50 years. He was particularly involved with the Brown Sports Foundation. In Jim’s memory, Carolyn and their children Pamela ’92 and Stephen ’90 made a gift to fund a much-needed renovation of the football office suite in the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center. A conference room in the suite was dedicated the James S. Coukos ’55 Football Conference Room on September 24, 2004, with more than 80 teammates, family members and friends in attendance.

“Jim loved Brown. He often spoke to me about his wonderful years as a Brown student and about his belief that Brown gave him the tools and experiences to succeed in life in ways that might not otherwise have been possible.

On one of our early dates Jim took me to see a Brown-Princeton football game. Little did I know then how many Brown football games I would attend over the next nearly 40 years. Early in our marriage Jim began to save – not for our children to go to college, but for – as he put it – our children to go to Brown. It was with much pride that Jim and I saw both of them (Pamela ’90 and Stephen ’92) become Brown students.

Jim was ever true to Brown. He was motivated all his life to give back to the university that he believed had given him so much. I am delighted that our gift, through the Sports Foundation, has and will have such a dramatic and practical effect on the experiences of current and future football players. Our family is proud to have Jim’s name associated with Brown University and its football program.”

– Carolyn C. Coukos P’90 ’92

“These renovations have made a big difference for our football program. When our players, coaches, recruits, and visitors enter the new office suite there is now an unmistakable feeling of pride and sense of excellence. The changes also have significantly enhanced our team meeting spaces, which are so critical for film review, teaching, and game preparation.

But this project was also very meaningful personally. Jim Coukos ’55 was a passionate supporter of Brown Football. We are so pleased that with the new conference room named in his memory, he will always be a part of our football family. I can’t express how appreciative we are of the Coukos family for wanting to remember Jim in this way.”

– Phil Estes, Head Football Coach