A lifelong runner, Jim Cottingham was a cross country and track and field captain at the University of Chicago, where he still ranks among the all-time top 10 performers at 800 meters.

Following graduation, he continued competition for nine years as a middle distance runner for the University of Chicago Track Club. During this time he also worked as the assistant coach of the University of Chicago varsity team and the University of Chicago Track Club. In this capacity he worked with track and cross country athletes at all levels, including beginners, collegiate cross country All-Americans, elite post-collegiate athletics, and a few world record holders.

Cottingham began coaching cross country at Coe in 1995, where he is also a professor of physics and a world-recognized researcher in the field of acoustics. Coach Cottingham is also a former assistant track coach at Coe and is the head boys' track and field coach at West Branch High School.