Stetson University Men’s Basketball coach Donnie Jones, who is in his third season leading the Hatters, has signed a contract extension that will keep him on the Stetson bench through at least the 2025-26 season.
“I want to make sure Coach Jones knows how much we appreciate the work he and his staff have put into building our men’s basketball program during an extremely challenging time period,” Stetson University Director of Athletics Jeff Altier said. “His first season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic right when he was poised to take Stetson into post-season play for the first time.
“Since that time, he has continued to bring outstanding recruits to campus all while dealing with the pandemic. He took the team to the post-season last year, earning the programs’ first post-season victory, and he continues to push our program forward despite the many challenges they have faced.”
In addition to the base extension, Jones’ new contract has incentives for earning championships and post-season play that would push the length of the deal past 2025-26.
“Michelle and I, and our children, love DeLand and we are committed to Stetson University,” Jones said. “We feel like we have a lot of positives momentum going as we build our program after making a trip to the ASUN Tournament finals and receiving consecutive post-season bids in our first two years.
“I truly appreciate Jeff Altier and President Chris Roellke for making a commitment to me with this extension as we continue working to build a successful program at Stetson for years to come.”
The Hatters have posted a 31-38 record over the two-plus seasons under Jones, all while Stetson had one of the youngest rosters in college basketball and spent much of the past summer without access to their facility due to a new playing surface being installed. Success on the court has included back-to-back ASUN Freshman of the Year winners, back-to-back trips to the ASUN Conference semifinal game and two post-season bids.
A trio of Stetson players – Rob Perry, Chase Johnston and Mahamadou Diawara – have been selected as Kyle Macy Award recipients, recognizing the top freshmen in the nation. The Hatters also earned a road victory over South Carolina, the first win over a Power 5 opponent in several years.
“I have no doubt Coach Jones will take this program where we want to go, which is to the top of the highly competitive ASUN Conference,” Altier said.
While Coach Jones is building the men’s basketball program, the University is embarking on a major fundraising campaign to continue, and even accelerate, the renovation and renewal of the Edmunds Center, the home for our basketball and volleyball programs since 1974. The Edmunds Center which will turn 50 years old in 2024, and there is a renewed focusing on meeting accessibility and ADA standards for the building, as well as enhancing the fan experience. The improvements to the Edmunds Center will complement the growing success of the basketball and volleyball teams.
The summer of 2021 saw the installation of a new playing surface inside the Edmunds Center, the video scoreboards were installed prior to the Covid impacted 2020-21 season along with video scorers’ tables. Some areas outside of public view were renovated during the 2019-20 academic year.
“We are embarking on a fund-raising campaign with a goal of raising $20 million to make the Edmunds Center a selling point for our coaches and a destination for our fans,” Altier said. “With the rich tradition of athletic success in the Edmunds Center, there are many alums, friends, fans and corporate partners who will rally to this project and enable us to move quickly toward raising the money needed to advance this project.
“We are going to bring the Edmunds Center and the Glenn Wilkes Court in line with the best in the ASUN and provide our teams every opportunity to win championships.”
Stetson’s Jones receives contract extension
