Chris Jans is staying in the city of Las Cruces.
In an announcement made Wednesday afternoon by NM State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia, Jans, the head coach of NM State’s men’s basketball team, agreed to a six-year contract extension which will keep the Fairbank, Iowa, native installed as the Aggies’ bench boss through April 30, 2027.
The majority of the details regarding Jans’ contract extension were finalized during the summer of 2020.
“Sheri and I are honored to receive this contract extension from NM State,” stated Jans. “We are appreciative of the hard work, dedication, and generosity of the donors, Shari Jones and the 6th Man Club members, NM State’s Board of Regents, administration, and especially Mario Moccia and Braun Cartwright.”
Jans’ restructured contract takes effect today (April 14, 2021) and features the same $290,000 base salary as he was paid in the 2020-21 season. His retention bonus, however, increases from $216,000 to $294,000. Another additional piece to the new contract states a sum of $72,500 will be distributed between Jans and the other coaches on his staff. The $72,500 was made available by donors to the NM State men’s basketball program.
Aggie men’s basketball has experienced one of its finest four-year stretches in program history through Jans’ tenure in Las Cruces thus far. NM State won three consecutive WAC regular season titles (2018, 2019, 2020), captured two of the three available WAC Tournament crowns (2018 and 2019) and has posted a record of 95-25 (.792) under Jans. NM State’s three conference titles since the 2017-18 season are the third-most in the nation while the Aggies have made more NCAA Tournament appearances than 50 Power Five programs in that same span.
“What coach Jans has accomplished in his tenure at NM State has exceeded my highest expectations,” said NM State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia. “His student-athletes have done tremendously well in the classroom, have been good citizens in the community and continue to represent our university proudly.
“From a competitive standpoint, Chris is 9-3 in rivalry games against New Mexico and UTEP, has won WAC regular season and tournament championships, and provided thrilling entertainment even in razor-thin losses at second-ranked Kansas and 2019 Final Four participant Auburn in the NCAA Tournament,” Moccia continued. “In addition, prior to coach Jans’ arrival, our men’s basketball program beat just one Power Five program in 17 years. Under his leadership, the Aggies have five such wins to their credit and as a result Chris has cemented NM State as one of the nation’s premier mid-major programs.”
All told, Jans’ record as an NCAA Division I head coach stands at 116-37 (.758) through five seasons. Jans’ winning percentage of .758 is the fifth-best among all active NCAA Division I bench bosses with only Mark Few (Gonzaga), John Calipari (Kentucky), Bill Self (Kansas) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) ahead of NM State’s leader.
In Western Athletic Conference games, NM State has been nearly unstoppable with Jans leading the way. The Aggies are a combined 50-9 (.847) in regular-season league games through the last four seasons, owning the nation’s second-best in-conference winning percentage through that same period of time.
A three-time WAC Coach of the Year, Jans also claimed the title of Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year in 2015 while he was the head coach at Bowling Green. The Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year has been awarded every year since 2012 to recognize the top first-year NCAA Division I men’s basketball coaches in the nation. In 2019 and 2020, Jans was also selected as the NABC District Six Coach of the Year.
“This only increases our motivation to continue leading this historic program as we pursue our goals of winning championships and making Aggies everywhere proud of this program,” Jans concluded.
