Montini Catholic's school community is mourning the death of the Lasallian college preparatory high school's founding member and first Head Football and Wrestling coach, Jim Kavanaugh. Coach Kavanaugh passed away on Saturday, July 1, 2023. 

When Montini Catholic opened its doors in the fall of 1966, Jim Kavanaugh quickly became known as "Mr. Everything."  Named as the school's first football coach, Jim wore many other hats as well, serving as a PE teacher, guidance counselor, teacher, Head of Buildings and Grounds and Athletic Director. Tasked primarily with building the entire Bronco athletic program from scratch, Coach Kavanaugh hit the ground running and was instrumental in getting football, cheerleading, boys basketball, wrestling and baseball off the ground. 

Coach Kavanaugh guided Montini's first football team to a 4-4-1 overall record during their inaugural 1966 season. Playing at the junior varsity level under Kavanaugh's leadership, the Broncos posted a 6-2-2 record the following season before embarking in varsity competition beginning in the fall of 1968. It took just one game for Coach and his Broncos to earn their first varsity victory, defeating Lemont 21-14 in the season opener.

In total, during his 13 years of leadership, Kavanaugh led the Broncos to a 61-51-6 record, including 9 winning seasons. The 1974 Broncos captured the school's first ever Football Conference Championship, winning the West Suburban Catholic Conference crown, finishing with a 7-2 record. Kavanaugh was also very proud to have coached many All-Conference athletes throughout his Montini Catholic football coaching career.

Jim made a longterm impact on Montini Catholic's history when naming John L. Duffy Memorial Stadium after an impressive young Bronco player. John (a member of the Class of 1970) had been diagnosed with leukemia prior to his becoming a Bronco.  When his physical limitations put him at risk on the field - it was Coach Kavanaugh who made the decision to allow the young man to continue his dream of being a football team member by appointing him as Montini's first ever athletic manager. Upon John's death, Coach Kavanaugh requested that the new stadium be named in honor of John. He, Principal Brother Martin, and the entire faculty wanted the stadium named in honor of John as an example for future generations of Broncos who would follow in regards to John's commitment and loyalty to his team.  (The official dedication and naming of the stadium took place on October 26, 1968.)

Kavanaugh started the Montini Wrestling Program in the winter of 1966-67 with the Broncos fielding a squad of18 freshman wrestlers. Despite only coaching for one season, Kavanaugh helped lay the foundation for what is today one of the most successful wrestling programs in the Sate of Illinois.

Following his tenure as head football coach, Kavanaugh continued to serve Montini's school community as the Athletic Director through 1996, before retiring as the Director of Guidance and Boys Golf Coach in 2000. He returned frequently to Montini to participate in activities and to celebrate the school's many milestone events including their 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2016.

"I met Jim in late July 1974 for a teaching and coaching interview at Montini Catholic," said Jim's football coaching successor, Chris Andriano. "Kav asked me one question. Tell me about yourself? After maybe 10 minutes, he shook my hand and told me I had the job. He then gave me a post hole digger and told me to dig two holes 23 feet apart on the practice field! Five years later, he stepped down as head football coach, and picked me to replace him! He became my biggest advocate, supporter, and mentor. I will never forget everything he did for me and my career. I could always go to Kav with anything and he was always there for me! A very special man. I will miss him dearly! Next to my family, he was the biggest influence in my life."

"Jim Kavanaugh was literally one of the building blocks of Montini Catholic High School," added Coach (Mike) Bukovsky '83. "Throughout his many years of service to our Montini community, Jim took on many other roles as well, and was always a tireless worker no matter what job he did. Jim will always be remembered as the 'Father of Montini Football,' and laid the groundwork for the future success of this program."

In addition to being a founding member of Montini Catholic, Kavanaugh was also the father of several Bronco alumni: Ken '79, Chris '80, Matt '82, Maureen '88, Coleen '89 and the late Kathleen Kavanaugh. He was the father-in-law of Cathleen (Jelinek) Kavanaugh '80.