During this time period, James won the doubles tennis title at the Mississippi Junior College Conference tournament in 1967 alongside Nancy Vogle while at Perkinston.[7] The following year, James was part of the team that reached the National Amateur Athletic Union basketball tournament with Mississippi State College.[8][9] During 1970, James finished her education at the University of Southern Mississippi.[10] She was also a basketball coach with Southern Mississippi.[11]
In 1977, James was hired by the University of Southern Mississippi as a gym teacher.[12] For her head coaching career, James joined their tennis and women's basketball teams that year.[18] By the end of the 1970s, James was holding her tennis coaching position for the women at Southern Miss.[19] In 1981, James's team were at the AIAW Region 3 women's basketball tournament and reached the quarterfinals.[20]
After the Metro Conference ended in 1995, Southern Miss joined Conference USA in 1996.[28] At the Conference USA women's basketball tournament, James's team were semifinalists in 1996.[29] James remained in her basketball coaching position until 1999 when Southern Mississippi ended her position.[30] With Southern Mississippi, she had 403 wins and 224 losses.[31]
In 2000, James continued working as a physical education teacher at Southern Miss.[32] In 2005, she was a color analyst at WXHB-FM 96.5 for Southern Miss Lady Eagles basketball games.[33] With the Southern Miss Sports Network, James continued her radio position leading up to the early 2020s.[34][35]
As part of the Metro Conference, James received the Coach of the Year award in 1989.[40] She won this award again in 1992 and 1994.[41][42] With the Conference USA, James was the Coach of the Year in 1996.[43] From Southern Miss, James became part of the M-Club Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Golden Eagle Legends Club in 2003.[44][45] The university created Kay James Drive in 2005 and Kay James Day in 2017.[46][47]
^Hinton, Alan (March 28, 1977). "Many baseball transactions conducted; Love stops Watts in boxing tournament". Hattiesburg American. AP Wire Reports. p. 16.
^"USM Women's Coach Wants Wins, Attention". Clarion-Ledger. March 15, 1977. p. 1C.
^"James signed tennis player from Florida". Hattiesburg American. May 22, 1979. p. 19.
^Yunt, Gary (March 13, 1981). "JSU eases past USM, 66-62 in AIAW play". Clarion-Ledger. p. 4E.
^"Kay James". NCAA Statistics. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
^"USM women drop thriller". Hattiesburg American. March 27, 1982. p. 11.
^Doherty, Tim (March 11, 1995). "USM secures Metro crown". Hattiesburg American. p. 1B.
^Knobler, Mike (July 12, 1992). "State's women's coaches learn to accept status quo". The Clarion-Ledger. p. 6D.
^Minichino, Adam (March 25, 1994). "USM can't overcome". Sun Herald. p. C-1.
^"The 1994 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship". The Atlanta Journal. March 29, 1994. p. E4.
^Wilson, Robert (April 26, 1995). "Staying put makes plenty of sense to women's coach". Clarion-Ledger. p. 3D.