Molding the Viking fencing program into one which can annually compete on the national level is the goal of Jim Sager, Cleveland State's fifth-year men's and women's head coach.

The Vikings have made steady progress since Sager joined the Vikings in 1999 as an assistant coach. He then assumed the head coaching duties following the conclusion of the 2000-01 campaign. Previously, he served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, while also assisting at various high schools in the Washington D.C. area.

He was selected as the 2005 NCAA Midwest Region Fencing Coach of the Year. The award is one of four given out nationally every year, one for each of the four regions (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic/South, Midwest & West) and encompasses both men's and women's fencing teams.

Sager currently sits on the board of the Midwest Fencing Conference, serving as secretary the last six years. Last year, Sager directed the men's foil unit at the Midwest Conference Championships to a second-place finish behind eventual National Champion Ohio State, after posting a 23-4 regular season record. Sophomore foilist Mike Merker earned a berth in the NCAA Championships in Houston, Texas and was was one of six members of the CSU men's and women's teams to earn all-region accolades.

A four-year letterwinner (1971-75) at University of Maryland, Sager earned All-America recognition following the 1972-73 campaign. He was chosen as the team captain and most valuable fencer his senior year, while being ranked ninth in the nation. In four seasons at epee for the Terrapins, he earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors from 1972-75. He received his bachelor's degree from Maryland in 1975.

Sager has acquired national and international honors for fencing epee. He was a two-time gold medalist in the under-20 epee Champion DC AFLA, finished seventh in the 1972 Junior Olympics and was a two-time gold medalist in the Cherry Blossom Open. Sager was also ranked as a Class A AFLA Fencer in epee and won numerous other medals in regional and local tournaments.

Internationally, Sager was a epee quarterfinalist at the Martini Rossi Invitational.

After graduating from Maryland in 1975, he accepted a position with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Corporation. He worked with the company in various positions for six years. In 1981, he went to work for Dunlop Holdings as a regional manager in the Mid-Atlantic division. Four years later, he moved to Cleveland to run the North American Division of the Dunlop Tire Corporation. After retiring from Dunlop, Sager was elected in 1993 to the "Who's who registry of Global Business Leaders."

Sager lives in Strongsville with his wife Barbara, who is sales director for Avery Dennison Corporation, and daughter Ashley, currently a student in CSU's new School of Journalism and Promotional Communication.