Jones Signs Contract Extension
New Deal Keeps Coach On Hilltop Through 2014
Aug. 27, 2010
DALLAS (SMU) - SMU head football coach June Jones has signed to a two-year contract extension that will keep him on the Hilltop through the 2014 season, Director of Athletics Steve Orsini announced Friday.
Taking over an SMU program that had not been to a bowl game in nearly a quarter century, Jones and the Mustangs shocked the college football world in 2009, snapping a 25-year bowl drought, claiming a Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Championship, and earning a share of the Conference USA Western Division Championship. SMU finished the season with an 8-5 record, marking the largest turnaround in the nation in 2009 (+7 wins). A winner of three National Coach of the Year Awards in his career, Jones was named Conference USA Coach of the Year by The Sporting News in 2009.
"Coach Jones has brought a winning culture to our football program, and under his leadership, I know he will soon exceed my goal for the football program here at SMU - and that is to be a perennial top-25 team," said Orsini. "He has more than earned this extension and we are so happy to have June Jones here on the Hilltop."
"Coach Jones has done an outstanding job in his two-plus years here," President R. Gerald Turner said. "Athletics is an integral part of the campus experience and a rallying point for the entire University. Through the success of our football team, SMU received unparalleled attention during the 2009 bowl season. I am thrilled that June has signed this extension as we work together to reestablish our winning tradition in football."
"I'm very excited about the direction of the program and the University, and I'm happy to sign this extension," said Jones. "I want to thank Steve and President Turner for this and for their help and cooperation in rebuilding our program. Their support and the support of the SMU community will allow us to be successful for years to come."
Jones and the Mustangs open the 2010 season on Sunday, Sept. 5, in an ESPN-televised match-up at Texas Tech. Entering the season, the Mustangs have gathered a great deal of attention on the national stage, having received votes in both the Associated Press and USA TODAY preseason college football polls.
Season tickets for the 2010 season start at as little as $72, and can be purchased through SMU Ticket Sales representatives at 214-768-4263 or by logging on to SMUMustangs.com.
