Jim Klemann began his tenure as Rocky Mountain College’s athletic director in September of 2021. He had previously spent 17 years at the University of Jamestown, where he held multiple positions, including Assistant Baseball Coach, Director of Transfer Admission, Director of Annual Giving for the Jimmie Booster Club, and Assistant Athletic Director for Development and Operations.
Battlin’ Bears Athletics has seen tremendous success under Klemann’s direction, including 189 All-Conference honorees, 70 All-Americans, and over 300 Academic All-Conference honorees. Rocky’s athletic department boasted a 3.31 cumulative GPA during the 2023-24 academic year. Rocky Football (2021), Women’s Basketball (2021-22; 2024-25), Men’s Golf (2022, 2023, & 2024), and Women’s Golf (2022, 2023, & 2024) have won conference championships during Klemann’s tenure, while Women’s Basketball (2021-22) and Volleyball (2022) have won conference tournament titles. The Battlin’ Bear Ski program has totaled 17 USCSA Team National Championships since 2021. Between Ski Racing, Women’s Track and Field, and Men’s Cross Country, the Battlin’ Bears have totaled 21 individual National Champions.
Coaches and administrators have flourished under Klemann’s leadership, as four coaches have been named Conference Coach of the Year (Chris Stutzriem, 2021; Wes Keller, 2021-22 & 2024-25; Nathan Bailey, 2022 & 2023 (WGOLF), 2023 & 2024 (MGOLF); and Jackson Duffey, 2024), and former Head Athletic Trainer Jennifer Linton was named Frontier Conference Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2023.
Klemann has played an integral role at the conference and national level, serving as the Sport Chair for Football and Track and Field and on the Membership Committee and the Transition Committee for the new-look Frontier Conference in 2025. At the NAIA level, Klemann has served on the NAIA Revenue Generation Committee, Men’s Soccer Championship Selection Committee (2023), and has twice presented at the NAIA National Convention (2024 & 2025).
Klemann has led department growth by raising over $300,000 annually with the launch of the Battlin’ Bears Booster Club and a new corporate sponsorship program involving community members and corporate partners to enhance Rocky’s gameday experience. He has also spearheaded the annual Bear Bash event, an athletics fundraising event that has raised over $30,000 for Rocky Athletics, and led fundraising efforts to renovate the Fortin Education Center gymnasium with new branding and six new basketball goals.
Since Klemann began as athletic director, Rocky Athletics has had new partnerships with Hometown Ticketing, ETeamSponsor, UpTop, Meadowlark Brewing, TeamBuildr, Sideline Interactive, Neptune Gametime, and BSN Sports.
Other new experiences and improvements have included the first charter flights in program history for Football and Men’s and Women’s Basketball, the relaunch of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, revamped Student-Athlete and Athletic Staff handbooks, and the founding of the Montana Gamma Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma, which honors high-achieving student-athletes.
Klemann is a native of Belgrade, Montana. He graduated from the University of Jamestown with a Bachelor of Arts degree in health and fitness administration, with minors in business and coaching. Klemann is accompanied in Billings by his wife Amy and three children, Cal, Evelynn, and Cooper.
