Craig James
Biography
A fifth-generation Texan, Craig has a strong commitment to conservative values and a passion for preserving those values. He was born in Jacksonville, TX in 1961 and graduated from Southern Methodist University as an All-American football player and a member of the tandem backfield known as the “Pony Express”. As a junior at SMU, Craig caught his entrepreneurial spirit and obtained a line of credit to start Mustang Car Sales and Leasing.
Following his college graduation, Craig played for the New England Patriots in the National Football League and played in Super Bowl XX. He never had an “off season”. He spent his time off the field honing his skills as a licensed commercial land broker in DFW working on raw land deals, retail centers, multi-family and single family development.
In 1993, he started the Craig James School of Broadcasting to train many of the players and coaches who are broadcasting today. In 1995, he formed the Players Communication Network, one of the original video content providers for the Internet. He obtained partnerships with Lance Armstrong, Michael Johnson, Yahoo and The Sporting News. He created and sold several shows, including the Michael Irvin Show, Call it Like It Is with Deion Sanders, The Daryl Johnston show, Inside the Huddle with Craig James, Eric Dickerson and Gil Brandt, The Johnny Oats show and Inside Hockey with Brent Severson.
He founded Emerging Land Markets in 2003, an extension of his personal real estate holdings with a focus on ranch acquisitions and development. These holdings extended to nearly 50,000 acres with value in excess of $150 million. The sale of assets from 2006-2008 was approximately $100 million.
Craig published “Game Day” in the fall of 2009, which chronicled his tours during college football spring training. He has also served as co-chair for SMU Unbridled: The Second Century Campaign, the largest fundraising initiative in SMU's history with an announced goal of raising $750 million.
He served as the President of the Celina Economic Development Corporation Board from 2003-2010. He spearheaded the project to bring Brookshires grocery store to Celina.
He joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation Board in January 2010. The TPPF is a leading research institution on Public Policy that believes in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets and liberty.
He founded Texans for a Better America in 2010, which is a 501(c)4 corporation that allows people to share ideas that people have to protect and improve America.
He has had a successful 30 years in business while working as a college football analyst.
Craig left his college football position at ABC/ESPN in December and sold his interest in Emerging Land Markets to whole-heartedly pursue his campaign for the United States Senate. He is extremely passionate about restoring America and the future of the country. He wants Real Street to have the opportunity to start from nothing and build the American dream. This is what he did for himself. Craig does not want to become a career politician. He wants to go to Washington to rock the boat and be a voice for Real Street.
