The list of accolades for Fordham University Football’s James Conway is long. Just this season, Conway recorded 159 tackles, a new single-season program record. Along the way in his fifth and final year at Fordham, he broke the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) career tackle record on Oct. 25 against Lehigh University, and went on to break the Division I (DI) career tackle record on Nov. 15 against Georgetown University, a week before he ended his college football career as the best tackler in DI history with a stunning 595 career tackles. He recorded double-digit tackles in all but three games in 2025, and was named First Team All-Patriot League and the Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, Conway arrived at Rose Hill as a freshman in 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was still top of mind. The transition from the Midwest to the big city might’ve phased many, but Conway found the adjustment fairly smooth.
“The campus here in Fordham, the Rose Hill campus, is really beautiful and it’s kind of tucked away, so it wasn’t a complete city life experience, so it was kind of nice. It made the transition a little more smooth,” Conway said.
The recruitment process for Conway was a bit unorthodox, as Fordham Football Head Coach Joe Conlin shared.
“My defensive coordinator at the time, Paul Rice, came in here and said ‘There’s this linebacker in Omaha, Nebraska, of all places.’ … So I turned on the film, watched him,” he said. “I think we called him that night and offered him. And I think he committed a couple of weeks later and that was kind of it, you know, and probably had a handful of phone conversations with him, then he showed up on campus and became the NCAA Division I all-time lead tackler.”
Ryan Greenhagen, legendary Rams linebacker from 2018-2022 and the current holder of the DI single-game tackling record, set in the 2021 season opener at the University of Nebraska, now serves as an assistant coach for Fordham, leading the outside linebackers group in 2025. Greenhagen became a role model for Conway during his time as his teammate and as his coach, and the two developed a close friendship.
“The first thing I really remember about Jimmy was after practice, I used to always stay after practice and do extra work, whatever I just felt like we weren’t doing well enough during practice … and he just kind of started one day and just joined. And then after that first day, there was never a time where he didn’t … That’s kind of what foreshadowed his entire career, is just doing extra, having the maturity to be like, okay well, one of the older guys is doing it, so that’s what I should be doing,” Greenhagen said.
Coincidentally, the game in which Greenhagen set the DI single-game tackle record was Conway’s first collegiate start, returning to his home state and a mere 45-minute drive away from his family home just eight weeks after arriving at Rose Hill. Both Greenhagen and Conlin reflected on this moment as one that stood out to them, beyond simply the extraordinary numbers Conway put up as a Ram. Greenhagen shared the impact of Conway’s emotions on the day on his own mindset.
“In Nebraska, they don’t have a professional football team, you have the University of Nebraska. So that was crazy, I can’t imagine. It was probably the craziest thing in the world for him to go back and do it … And the kid was stonefaced. Like, couldn’t tell he was nervous, couldn’t tell anything,” Greenhagen said. “He’s a very cool, calm, and collected kid. And I just remember seeing that and being like, that calms me down. Like, you know, we’ll be fine. That was one of the most impressive things.”
His numbers will live forever, but perhaps Conway’s biggest impact on the Fordham program came through his character and leadership. Conway was a multi-time captain, and always seemed to care for the success of the team more than his own individual accomplishments. Reflecting on the day he claimed the FCS career tackle record, Conway first brought up the result of the game: a difficult 27-6 loss against Lehigh at home.
“To be honest, it came after kind of a tough loss. I was a little bummed about that. But I had some family at the game, so it was great to just spend the night with them and kind of enjoy the evening, even though it was a tough loss,” said Conway.
When asked what the team will miss the most about Conway, both Greenhagen and Conlin made mention of Conway’s personality before his accolades.
“He’s someone, I’m sure literally everybody likes him, but the other piece of it is everyone can kind of look at him and be like, that’s the example. That’s the standard. That’s what we preach as coaches,” Greenhagen shared.
“He never does the wrong thing. He’s never in a bad mood. He’s never a jerk. He’s never really human, he’s always just this sweet kid from Nebraska that loves playing the game,” Conlin recalled.
When asked what he would remember the most from his time at Fordham, Conway reflected on the people he was surrounded by throughout his five years at Rose Hill.
“I think I’ll just remember the people here,” Conway said. “The relationships will last a lifetime, and the coaches, my teammates, my classmates are just really good people, and I just built a lot of good relationships.”
It was a difficult 2025 season for Fordham Football. The team finished 1-11 on the season, coming in last in the Patriot League, but Conway’s character and accolades were a bright spot that kept the team going and fans enticed. Conlin mentioned the larger context of a lackluster Fordham season during Conway’s final year.
“Obviously, you know, it hasn’t been a very positive season for us. But that’s what makes James James, is that he’d trade every single one of those tackles to flip our record right now,” Conlin said.
What’s next for Conway? He’s graduating this December with a master’s degree in artificial intelligence, but hopes to keep football in his life for as long as possible.
“Hopefully I can keep playing football, so I’m gonna try to play as long as I can, and I also really like my degree, so eventually football will be over and I’ll pursue something in that field,” Conway said.
Greenhagen looked towards the future when asked what the team will miss the most about Conway’s presence, both with his dominance on the field and his character in the locker room.
“We’re going to miss him because you have somebody to point to, where it’s like he does everything right … We all know he’s going to go on and do great things, so we’re excited to see that,” Greenhagen said.
