Another Ivy League Tournament title and NCAA appearance, another ride on the coaching carousel and another contact extension for the dean of Ivy coaches.
Hours after Adam Nelson at HoopDirt.com stated that Yale’s James Jones was “picking up steam” for the open position at the University of San Diego, Jon Rothstein tweeted that Jones was finalizing a deal that would keep him at Yale through the completion of the 2030-31 season.
When reached for comment about the extension, a member of Yale Athletics informed Ivy Hoops Online that the school doesn’t comment on personnel matters, and nothing could be added “at the moment.”
Following the Bulldogs last NCAA appearance in 2019, Jones was a finalist for the open St. John’s position. Following an on-campus interview with the Big East school, Yale Athletic Director Vicky Chun got the coach to sign a deal that kept him at the Ancient Eight institution through the 2025-26 campaign.
“Yale’s a wonderful place,” Jones told the New Haven Register at the time. “I have the best kids on the planet. We’ve built something really special here, and we’re committed to improve where we are.”
In his 23rd season leading the Bulldogs, Jones is 352–291 (.547) overall and 191–117 (.620) in the Ivy League. Both win totals are second to Princeton Hall of Famer Pete Carril (514 and 310, respectively) among coaches during their tenures with Ivy programs.
Jones’ teams have won shares of five Ivy regular season titles (’02, ’15, ’16, ’19, ’20), two Ivy Tournament championships (’19 and ’22) and 21 straight top-four league finishes. The Bulldogs have six postseason appearances, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Despite losing in the first round to No. 3 Purdue this season and No. 3 LSU in 2019, the Bulldogs made a national splash when they upset No. 5 Baylor in the opening round of the 2016 tournament.
On an individual note, Jones has been named Ivy League Coach of the Year three times (’15, ’16, ’20), earned the Hugh Dunham Award in 2016 and the Ben Jobe Award in 2019. The Dix Hills, N.Y. native is again a finalist for the Jobe Award, which goes to the nation’s top Division I minority coach, as well as the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which honors coaches who achieve success on the basketball court and display moral integrity off the floor.
If Jones completes his new contract, his 32-year tenure at Yale would eclipse Carril’s 29 seasons at Princeton and get him within eight years of former Harvard women’s coach Kathy Delaney-Smith’s high mark for all Ivy coaches, a 40-year run that ended earlier this month with her retirement.