Jeff Jones
	College: University of Virginia, '82 Years at American: 10th Season (149-121) Position: Head Coach

In nine seasons as head coach of the AU men's basketball team, Jeff Jones has engineered one of the most remarkable turnarounds in school history. The transformation of the men's program has culminated over the last two seasons as the Eagles' have made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament, including the school's first ever trip to the ‘Big Dance.'

The 2008-09 Eagles enjoyed one of the best seasons in school history and capped the year off with a remarkable performance in the NCAA Tournament. American, led by its seven seniors, pushed Final Four participant Villanova to its limits, taking a 10-point lead into halftime and leading by as many as 14 points in the second half. Villanova eventually came back to win the game but not before the Eagles caught the attention of the nation.

AU finished last season with a 24-8 overall record, matching the program record for wins, and a 13-1 mark against the Patriot League. The Eagles led the nation in road wins with 11 and their 59.1 points per game allowed ranked 11^th in the NCAA. For his efforts, Jones was acknowledged as the Patriot League Coach of the Year and the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 13 Coach of the Year.

"Last year was very gratifying for the school and the program. We intend on building on the momentum that we started last year," commented Jones.

The highlight of an outstanding 2007-08 season was again a great performance in the NCAA Tournament. In the first round matchup in Birmingham, Ala., AU played a tightly contested game against Tennessee, trailing by only one point, 50-49, with six minutes to play before the Volunteers pulled away. The Eagles appearance in the NCAA Tournament was the first in program history and was earned with a 52-46 win over Colgate in the Patriot League Championship Game. AU went 21-12 on the year, marking the team's first 20-win season since the 1989-90 season, and won its third Patriot League Regular Season Championship. Along the way American picked up a milestone victory, defeating regional foe and national basketball powerhouse Maryland in College Park, 67-59.

Jones has set the standard for coaching excellence at American and is the program's all-time leader in wins with a record of 149-121. Jones has also guided American to four regular-season championships and five appearances in the Patriot League Tournament Championship Game. He has developed 17 players who have been named All-Patriot League, 16 players who have gone on to play professionally, two players who received the Patriot League Rookie of the Year award, Andre Ingram (2004) and Derrick Mercer (2006), and two players, Patrick Doctor (2002) and Derrick Mercer (2008), who earned the Patriot League Player of the Year award. Such success reflects his impeccable basketball pedigree: A star point guard who held the record for assists at the University of Virginia, the Owensboro, Ky., native is a member of the Apollo High School Hall of Fame. He is still the only person to win National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Championships as both a player and coach. It's not an exaggeration to say that basketball is in his blood: his father, Bob, coached Kentucky Wesleyan University, leading the team to the 1973 NCAA Division II title.

One of the most respected teachers in the collegiate ranks, Jones left the University of Rhode Island, where he served as an assistant on Jerry DeGregorio's staff during the 1999-2000 season, to take the helm of American basketball in April 2000, becoming the 17th coach in the school's history. In just his second season at AU, Jones led the Eagles to the second-best turnaround in NCAA Division I history, finishing with an 18-12 overall record. The 11-game improvement from 2000-01 was second only to Bob Knight's Texas Tech squad that had a 14-game turnaround. The 18 victories were the highest win total for the program since 1989-90 (a performance the team would repeat in 2003-04), and its first winning campaign since 1990-91.

During the 2001-02 season the Eagles captured the Patriot League regular-season title, fashioning a 10-4 conference record in the process. The top seed in the league tournament, the Eagles advanced to the championship game only to fall to Holy Cross, 55-52, before then the largest championship crowd in league history and just the second sellout in the history of AU's Bender Arena. The game was also played in front of a national audience on ESPN. Earlier that same season AU gained national recognition with a 77-72 win at Florida State, becoming the first Patriot League school to ever defeat a member of the renowned Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

During the 2002-03 season, Jones led the Eagles to a victory over cross-town rival George Washington and a regular season win over Holy Cross. The Eagles finished second in the regular season and reached the Patriot League Championship Game for a second time.

In 2003-04 Jones guided the Eagles to their second Patriot League regular season title in three years and led AU to the Patriot League Championship Game for the third straight year. AU finished with its third-consecutive winning season for the first time in 13 years and had a six-game winning streak for the first time in 14 years. The Eagles earned an invitation to the Rainbow Classic, where they went 2-1, including a win over NCAA tourney team East Tennessee State.

The Eagle Has Landed

Jones also led the Eagles to a winning season in 2004-05, as American finished with a 16-12 record and an 8-6 mark in the Patriot League, good for third place. With the winning record, Jones had guided AU to above-.500 marks in four straight seasons--the first time that had happened since the 1974-75 season, when AU completed a string of five straight winning seasons. Jones's reputation helped the Eagles get invited to the 2004-05 Preseason NIT.

In 2006-07 a resurgent AU team achieved a 16-14 record. The winning record marked a period of nearly unprecedented success at AU, as five of the previous six teams had winning seasons, a record accomplished only four times before in the team's history.

Other notable 2006-07 achievements:

• The Eagles got off to their best start in 17 years with a 7-2 opening mark.
• Jones had a personal highlight with his 100th win at AU when the Eagles knocked off Colgate in a thrilling overtime game.
• American went on to the Patriot League semifinals, where eventual league champ Holy Cross won on a last-second basket.
• Jones joined the exclusive 250-win club.

Other Career Highlights:

• When he became the University of Virginia's eighth head coach at age 29, Jones was the youngest coach in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In eight years at the helm, he compiled a record of 146-104 for a .584 winning percentage. He led Virginia to six postseason appearances (five NCAA, one NIT), one regular-season ACC championship, and four 20-win campaigns. Virginia's win over Virginia Tech during the 1994-95 regular season gave Jones his 100th career victory, making him the second-fastest coach in school history and fifth-fastest in ACC history to accomplish the feat. He also directed the Cavaliers to five of their top six seasons for field-goal percentage defense.

• Virginia made its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in seven seasons under Jones in 1996-97. Finishing that season with an overall mark of 18-13, the Cavaliers fell to Iowa in a West Region first-round game.

• The 1994-95 season saw Jones lead Virginia to a final mark of 25-9. The program advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight and earned a share of its first ACC regular-season crown since 1983. Virginia finished that season ranked eighth in the final CNN/USA Today poll, and 13th in the final Associated Press media poll. Those were the highest final national rankings by a Virginia team since 1983.

• In 1992-93 Jones became the only coach in conference history to win at least 20 games in each of his first three seasons. He led Virginia to a 21-10 record (9-7 ACC) and a trip to the 1993 East Region semifinals in the NCAA Tournament.

• In 1991-92, Jones's Cavaliers posted a 20-13 record and went on to win the NIT championship. As a result, Jones became the first person to win an NIT title as both a player and a coach; he is still the only person to accomplish the feat.

• In his first season as head coach at Virginia, Jones led the 1990-91 squad to a 21-12 overall record. He was the only rookie coach in the nation that year to have his team in the NCAA Tournament.

Before his eight-year run as head coach, Jones was a full-time assistant on Terry Holland's staff at UVa, from 1986 to 1990, a part-time assistant for three seasons, and a graduate assistant for one. During his eight seasons as an assistant, Jones was a part of the Cavaliers' overall record of 162-95 (.630), participating in six NCAA Tournaments while advancing to the Final Four in 1984 and the Elite Eight in 1989. Virginia also competed in one NIT during his tenure.

A Big-Time Player

Before his coaching career, Jones made his mark on the national college basketball scene as a player. After starring at Apollo High School in Owensboro, Kentucky, he went on to become point guard for the University of Virginia from 1978-82. As a four-year starter for the Cavaliers, Jones was known as a leader and prolific passer. With Jones directing a potent offense, UVa compiled an overall record of 102-28 (.785) while he led the Cavaliers to two NCAA Tournaments and two NITs. Virginia captured the 1980 NIT title and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1981. He graduated from Virginia in 1982 with a bachelor of science degree in psychology.

Jones finished his career as Virginia's all-time assist leader (598) while also setting the single-season record with 200 assists during the 1979-80 season. Later, as head coach, he saw both of those records eclipsed by his own player, John Crotty. Jones served as team captain as a senior during the 1981-82 season and played in 129 games during his career. During that time he averaged 6.6 points and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 74.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Jones and his wife, Danielle, live in Arlington, Va. He is the father of three children, Meghann, Madison Perry, and Jeffrey Robert.

Year-by-Year Coaching Record

Year                 School                 Record          Postseason

1990-01           Virginia                21-12             NCAA First Round

1991-92           Virginia                20-13             NIT Champions

1992-93           Virginia                21-10             NCAA Sweet 16

1993-94           Virginia                18-13             NCAA Second Round

1994-95           Virginia                25-9               NCAA Elite 8

1995-96           Virginia                12-15             --

1996-97           Virginia                18-13             NCAA First Round

1997-98           Virginia                11-19             --

2000-01           American             7-20                --

2001-02           American             18-12              --

2002-03           American             16-14              --

2003-04           American             18-13              --

2004-05           American             17-11              --

2005-06           American             12-17              --

2006-07           American             16-14              --

2007-08           American             21-12              NCAA First Round

2008-09           American             24-8                NCAA First Round

Record at AU                      149-121 (.552)    Two postseason apps.

Overall Record                   295-225 (.567)    Eight postseason apps.