McAuliffe played college football at Dartmouth from 1913 to 1915 under head coach Frank Cavanaugh. He was the captain of the team in 1915.[2] That season, McAuliffe was a second team selection by Walter Eckersall of the Chicago Tribune to the All-America Team. After graduating, McAuliffe joined the United States Navy and remained there for the duration of World War I. He spent part of his time in the Navy a gunnery instructor at Harvard College.[1]
Coaching career
McAuliffe was the 11th head football coach at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and he held that position for the 1916 season. His coaching record at Marquette was 4–3–1.[3] He continued on at Marquette as an assistant to John J. Ryan in 1917 and 1918. After serving as line coach at his alma mater, Dartmouth, in 1924 under head coach Jesse Hawley, McAuliffe was appointed as head football coach at Catholic University in June 1925. He was living in Fitchburg, Massachusetts at the time.[4]