OLD DOMINION’S MIKE JONES EARNS MID-SEASON HONORS
The first-year head coach has already surpassed last season’s win total

BOSTON, MA -- Old Dominion University head coach Mike Jones is the recipient of the Joe B. Hall award ‘Mid-Season’ honors. The award is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in division I college basketball.

Picked to finish 8^th in the Sun Belt preseason poll, Jones currently has the Monarchs tied for first place in the conference. With 8 wins, he has already surpassed ODU’s win total for all of last season (7).

Jones, who was hired on March 1, 2024, played for the Monarchs from 1991-95. He was a part of two tournament championship teams and one of the greatest wins in school history, when ODU upset Villanova 89-81 (3OT) in the first round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament.

“Mike Jones is doing it the right way,” said Tom Conrad, senior analyst for CollegeInsider.com and longtime NBA Scout. “He’s getting his players to play for the name on the front of the jersey and not the name on the back. Old Dominion basketball has a bright future with Mike at the helm.”

Jones had a highly successful 19-year stint as the head coach at DeMatha High School in Maryland, before joining the college ranks in 2021 as the associate head coach at Virginia Tech. He spent two seasons in Blacksburg and helped the Hokies to a 42-28 record in those two years. In his first season, Virginia Tech defeated No. 7 Duke to win its first-ever ACC Tournament Championship. His second season saw the Hokies notch wins over No. 18 North Carolina and No. 6 Virginia and advance to the NIT. He spent last season as an assistant at the University of Maryland.

The Joe B. Hall award is named in honor of longtime Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.

Hall coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985. He won two-thirds of his games (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year honors, and won a National Championship in 1978. He also steered the program to two other Final Fours, won eight Southeastern Conference regular season championships and one Southeastern Conference tournament championship (1984).

Coach Hall passed away on January 15, 2022.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men’s Division I Basketball Championship.

NOTE: Portions of the release came from the Old Dominion University athletic website.