Chris Jans

Chris Jans
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Mississippi State
Conference	SEC
Record	48–28 (.632)
Biographical details
Born	April 12, 1969 (age 55); Fairbank, Iowa, U.S.
Playing career
1987–1991	Loras
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1994	Elmhurst (assistant)
1994–1996	Grand View (assistant)
1996–1998	Kirkwood CC
1998–1999	Independence CC
1999–2001	Idaho (assistant)
2001–2003	Howard JC
2003–2004	Chipola
2004–2007	Illinois State (assistant)
2007–2014	Wichita State (assistant)
2014–2015	Bowling Green
2015–2017	Wichita State (special assistant)
2017–2022	New Mexico State
2022–present	Mississippi State
Head coaching record
Overall	191–72 (.726) (college); 159–45 (.779) (junior college)
Tournaments	1–5 (NCAA); 1–1 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	NJCAA Division II tournament (1998); 2 ICCAC regular season (1997, 1998); Panhandle regular season (2004); 4 WAC regular season (2018–2020, 2022); 3 WAC tournament (2018, 2019, 2022)
Awards
	NJCAA Division II Coach of the Year (1998); 3× WAC Coach of the Year (2018–2020)

Christopher Paul Jans (born April 12, 1969) is the American college basketball head coach for Mississippi State. Jans previously coached at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies from 2017 to 2022. Jans is a graduate of Loras College, and hails from Fairbank, Iowa.

Prior to New Mexico State, Jans was hired by Bowling Green in March 2014—his first Division I job. He led Bowling Green to its most wins in 13 years. However, on March 21—shortly after losing to Canisius in the 2nd round of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, a drunken Jans was seen engaging in lewd and inappropriate behavior toward women at a bar near campus. A Bowling Green alumnus recorded Jans on his cell phone, and was so outraged by what he saw that he reported the incident to school officials.^[1] Following an internal investigation, Bowling Green fired Jans for violating a morals clause in his contract.^[2]^[3]

Jans led New Mexico State to a 27–7 record in 2021–22, including an NCAA Tournament victory. He finished with a 122–32 mark at New Mexico State, winning four regular-season and three Western Athletic Conference tournament championships. On March 20, 2022, Jans was hired as head coach at Mississippi State.^[4]

Head coaching record

Junior college

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Kirkwood Eagles (Iowa Community College Athletic Conference) (1996–1998)
1996–97	Kirkwood	25–10			NJCAA Division II Tournament
1997–98	Kirkwood	31–6			NJCAA Division II Champion
Kirkwood:		56–16 (.778)
Independence Pirates (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference) (1998–1999)
1998–99	Independence	22–10	14–4
Independence:		22–10 (.688)	14–4 (.778)
Howard College Hawks (Western Junior College Athletic Conference) (2001–2003)
2001–02	Howard College	20–10
2002–03	Howard College	29–4
Howard College:		49–14 (.778)
Chipola Indians (Panhandle Conference) (2003–2004)
2003–04	Chipola	32–5	11–1	1st	NJCAA Division I Tournament
Chipola:		32–5 (.865)	11–1 (.917)
Total:		159–45 (.779)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

College

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Bowling Green Falcons (Mid-American Conference) (2014–2015)
2014–15	Bowling Green	21–12	11–7	3rd (East)	CIT Second Round
Bowling Green:		21–12 (.636)	11–7 (.611)
New Mexico State Aggies (Western Athletic Conference) (2017–2022)
2017–18	New Mexico State	28–6	12–2	1st	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2018–19	New Mexico State	30–5	15–1	1st	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2019–20	New Mexico State	25–6	16–0	1st	No postseason held
2020–21	New Mexico State	12–8	7–6	3rd
2021–22	New Mexico State	27–7	14–4	T–1st	NCAA Division I Round of 32
New Mexico State:		122–32 (.792)	64–13 (.831)
Mississippi State Bulldogs (Southeastern Conference) (2022–present)
2022–23	Mississippi State	21–13	8–10	T–9th	NCAA Division I First Four
2023–24	Mississippi State	21–14	8–10	9th	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2024–25	Mississippi State	6–1	0–0
Mississippi State:		48–28 (.632)	16–20 (.444)
Total:		191–72 (.726)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

source^[5]

Personal life

Jans resides in Starkville with his wife Sheri.

References

^ Wagner, John (April 3, 2015). "BGSU fires first-year basketball coach Chris Jans". The Blade.
^ "Men's Basketball Leadership Change Announced".
^ Thamel, Pete (April 2, 2015). "Video shows Bowling Green coach Chris Jans slapping woman's buttocks". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
^ Stephenson, Creg (March 20, 2022). "Mississippi State hires New Mexico State's Chris Jans as basketball coach". Al.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^ "Falcon Fodder: Men's Basketball". Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.

[1] Wagner, John (April 3, 2015). "BGSU fires first-year basketball coach Chris Jans". The Blade.

[2] "Men's Basketball Leadership Change Announced".

[3] Thamel, Pete (April 2, 2015). "Video shows Bowling Green coach Chris Jans slapping woman's buttocks". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 3, 2015.

[4] Stephenson, Creg (March 20, 2022). "Mississippi State hires New Mexico State's Chris Jans as basketball coach". Al.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.

[5] "Falcon Fodder: Men's Basketball". Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.

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