Career
He played professional football for the Minnesota Vikings in 1962 and was the head coach at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota from 1969 to 2000. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in July 2007. Christopherson coached the Cobbers for 32 seasons from 1969-2000.
During that time he amassed a 218-101-7 record.
When Christopherson retired in 2000 he was third in wins among active National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III coaches. He was also fifth in winning percentage among active Division III coaches with more than 15 years of experience and 16th in winning percentage among all active Division III coaches.
He was also among an elite group of coaches who have coached for over 30 years at the same school. Christopherson, who played for the Minnesota Vikings for two seasons, is the first player or coach from Concordia to receive the college game"s highest honor.
He became only the second player or coach from the MIAC to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
During his tenure at Concordia, Christopherson guided 16 players to All-American honors. He also produced over 120 athletes that were named to the MIAC All-Conference Team, including Barry Bennett, Senior and Barry Bennett, Junior.
As a player for the Cobbers, Christopherson was the team captain in 1959 and was named the MIAC Most Valuable Player during that season. In addition to coaching football, Jim also taught sailing at Concordia.