Co-captain of the Muskegon Big Red football team in 1949, Jim Neal earned Associated Press first team all-state honors at center as a senior. Following graduation, the 6-2, 205-pounder joined high school teammate Paul Dekker at Michigan State University.

Neal became a starter for the Spartans in the third game of the 1952 season. Coached by Clarence L. “Biggie” Munn, Michigan State rolled to its first national championship, finishing the season with a 9-0 record. Jim returned for his senior season in 1953. In their first year as a member of the Big Ten, the Spartans posted a 5-1 conference mark. Big Ten co-champions with Illinois, Michigan State was selected to represent the conference in the 1954 Rose Bowl. The squad responded with a 28-20 come-from-behind victory over UCLA to end the year ranked third nationally, with a 9-1 overall record. The game also marked the end of Munn’s seven-year career as Spartan gridiron coach.
A forestry major while in college, Neal earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors in 1953, as well as the team’s Ross Trophy, given annually to the athlete with the best contribution athletically and scholastically.

Following the 1953 season, Neal was invited to Hawaii for the Hula Bowl and to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. The two games conflicted and Neal accepted the invitation to Mobile, playing for the victorious North squad. Drafted in the second round of the National Football League’s annual draft by the Detroit Lions, Neal bypassed the NFL to work in his chosen field of study.