Chess Endowment Honors Program Director’s Legacy

After 21 years leading UT Dallas’ decorated chess team, Jim Stallings recently announced his retirement as director of the University’s chess program. At a celebration of Stallings’ legacy in January, UT Dallas announced the creation of a permanent endowment to strengthen the team’s resources for the future.

Established through a $25,000 gift from John Jacobs — a lifelong friend of Stallings and president of the UT Dallas Chess Advisory Board — and a second $25,000 contribution from the Ruth Ann Marmion Charitable Fund, the Jim Stallings Fund for Excellence in Chess will help enhance players’ skills and fund competition travel.

In recognition of these gifts, the Jim Stallings Chess Room in the Founders Building has been named to commemorate Stallings’ role building UTD’s international reputation for chess greatness.

Jacobs grew up playing chess with Stallings, and the pair roomed together while attending UT Austin. Over the course of their friendship, the two pushed each other to become better players. A decorated competitor himself, Jacobs is a Texas Junior Champion and five-time Texas State Champion who met and played against chess legends like Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky.

When UT Dallas was creating its chess team, Jacobs helped refer Stallings for the position of director. Since then, the program has grown to become one of the top collegiate chess teams in the country.

“UT Dallas has a best-in-class university chess program,” Jacobs said. “I never envisioned that we would go this far, but I give Jim all the credit. I was really thrilled by the idea of a fund to support the program that was dedicated to Jim.”

Under Stallings’ guidance, UT Dallas earned 14 berths in the President’s Cup, an annual competition for the top four collegiate chess teams, winning twice. From 2006 to 2012, the Comets also won the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship six times.

The University’s current roster features 16 undergraduate and graduate students from four continents, including six grandmasters — players who have achieved the highest rating classification from FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

Hank Mulvihill BA’95, a wealth manager recruited to the Chess Advisory Board by Jacobs and Stallings, said that the role of the Jim Stallings Fund for Excellence in Chess is to provide resources for UT Dallas to recruit top talent while funding opportunities for high-level competition.

“The purpose of this endowment is to help our players,” Mulvihill said. “It’s incredibly difficult to recruit top players now, and like everything, that takes money. As a former player, Coach [Julio Catalino] Sadorra knows that these players need funds to travel the world, for special tutors and other incremental costs. The spirit of the Stallings Fund is to provide whatever we can to benefit the team and allow them to succeed.”

Mulvihill helped facilitate a contribution to the team from the Ruth Ann Marmion Charitable Fund. Ann Marmion, a UT Austin graduate who lives near San Antonio, agreed to support UT Dallas’ chess program at Mulvihill’s suggestion, bolstering the University’s unique sporting identity.

“I have friends and clients across country who, when I say ‘UT Dallas,’ it’s not unusual for them to say, ‘chess team,’” Mulvihill said.

Jacobs agreed that the chess program is a special part of UT Dallas, one that highlights the University’s commitment to scholastic excellence alongside competitive achievement.

“It’s more than just a good chess program,” Jacobs said. “UT Dallas wins in a lot of ways. Yes, we win a lot in chess. But our graduates also go on to really great jobs, making a global difference. Unlike any other sport, chess speaks to a commitment to knowledge and intelligence. Supporting this program puts us up against the world’s best universities.”

To contribute to the UT Dallas Chess Team, visit giving.utdallas.edu/chess.

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