James F. Mooney was the eighth president of Seton Hall. He was born September 19, 1864 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended both St. Francis Xavier's College in New York City and St. Francis' College in Brooklyn before finishing at Seton Hall in 1884. He studied at Brignole-Sale in Genoa, Italy and on September 21, 1889 was ordained there. Mooney returned to the United States to serve at St. Mary's in Jersey City, NJ and St. Cecilia's Church in Kearny, NJ. He then came to Seton Hall as a professor of Latin and English. At the seminary he assumed the role of vice rector as well as professor theology and canon law. In 1907 he was elected to serve as President and Treasurer of Seton Hall.

Mooney's tenure saw the rise of the Setonia Athletic Association. In 1908 the baseball team joined in intercollegiate games and in 1909 basketball did the same. In 1909, tragedy struck once again in the form of fire. The College building was completely destroyed; no lives were lost and through the bravery of students the library's books were saved. Within two months of the fire construction began on a new building. In 1913 building of Bayley Hall began.

In 1911, Father Mooney was raised to Monsignor. In 1922, on August 2, he asked to be relieved of his post as President due to ill health. He served at St. Joseph's Church in Jersey City, NJ until his death on February 27, 1928.