Familiar face, big vision and same plan: The summer of Brent Jones

Brent Jones received the official call up to the (stand up) desk as Troy’s newest Director of Athletics on June 12. The hire quickly resonated with the Troy faithful as Jones was previously the Deputy Director of Athletics for External Operations and the community workhorse of the department.

Jones has high goals for Troy athletics and plans to focus in on the same blueprint his predecessor Jeremy McClain used to push the Troy brand: people.

Donor meetings as often as four nights a week, meetings with head coaches and department heads and promoting three key staffers have dotted and headlined Jones’ busy summer schedule.

Jones says getting on the same page with his department and selling his vision to the community was job number one.

“At least three nights a week I’ve been meeting with sponsors, fans, alums, donors and possible supporters to really engage our community and get out to tell my vision,” Jones told the Trojan Wall.

That vision for Troy is completely unified across the athletic department, according to Jones, and it is to compete for conference championships across all sports.

This includes accomplishing a feat Troy has almost never even come close to accomplishing: winning the Sun Belt’s Vic Bubas Cup. Troy has never won the award and finished top three in the Bubas Cup standings just once this decade (2017-18).

“We’re going to win the Bubas Cup,” Jones said. “But we’re going to do it with honor, we’re going to do it with integrity and we’re going to do it the right way.”

Jones’ plan to do this not only involves revenue generation, but also proper personnel placement.

The athletic department has undergone some changes in its staff that Jones says will help maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses.

The senior staff was reorganized quickly under Jones. Deputy athletic director Sandy Atkins helps in day-to-day department management and has sport oversight.

Kyle George was promoted to Jones’ former role as deputy director for external operations and now oversees all licensing and ticket sales for the department, among other roles.

Adam Prendergast was promoted to associate athletic director for communications and creative content along with Atkins’ and George’s promotions.

Most recently, Deonne Moore was hired to fill the role of assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions. Moore arrived in Troy from Oklahoma Baptist, where he made his mark by dramatically increasing basketball attendance.

This particular hire appears to be a well-timed one, considering the current state of the men’s basketball program.

Basketball in Trojan Arena today doesn’t quite emulate the raucous atmosphere Sartain Hall had in the 2000’s and Jones knows it.

After declining for several years, attendance rebounded in a big way over the past two seasons. Troy MBB has averaged over 2,000 people per game in each of the last two years, just barely eclipsing the Sun Belt average.

Consistency and atmosphere are still an issue, however, which has a lot to do with marketing and on-court performance. The athletic department has tackled both issues already.

Former Texas-Arlington coach Scott Cross was hired to replace Phil Cunningham in the spring. Instead of sticking to his side of the table and focusing soley on rebuilding the program, Cross has been a beacon of marketing and branding hope for a dormant basketball program before a single game has even been played.

As part of the interview process, Jones said he focused some of his questions on how the coach will win in the community. Cross checked off every box for Jones in that regard.

“Coach Cross has been exceptional,” Jones said. “I’ve taken him to Dothan, up to Birmingham, I’ve taken him to Montgomery, Fort Walton, Mobile and everywhere in between. This guy is a machine. He loves it, very similar to (women’s basketball head coach) Chanda (Rigby).”

Jones says Cross’ style of basketball will appeal to Troy fans and help awaken what Jones calls “one of the most amazing arenas in all of college basketball.”

The atmosphere Jones is looking for is one akin to the women’s NIT game against UAB in March. The Trojans hosted a program record 2,451 fans, each of them dialed in and on the edge of their seats throughout a tight 93-89 loss.

Building off of that experience and creating a high-level basketball environment will not be an easy task, but that’s where Moore comes in.

“What we hope for this upcoming year, is to build on what coach Chanda Rigby and her team has done, as well as the excitement around our new men’s basketball coach Scott Cross,” Jones said. “And to build an electric atmosphere inside Trojan Arena, one we’ve never had before. That is Deonne’s task and that is what he knows is in front of him and he’s excited to take that on.”

At Oklahoma Baptist, Moore was an integral part of an athletic department that saw women’s basketball attendance jump by 80 percent and men’s basketball attendance rise by 55 percent.

Before basketball can take over in Troy, though, football season is looming and Troy is embarking on a new era in that sport, as well. Not only is the football program under new leadership, but the building the team will play in looks a lot different than it did two years ago.

Following the north endzone facility’s inaugural season in 2018, Troy will also be unveiling a brand new turf inside Veterans Memorial Stadium. Jones is quick to note the uniqueness factor that the turf brings.

“We wanted to be a little bit unique, dynamic and bold and I think we knocked it out of the park,” Jones said. “We added two emojis, one on each side of the field. No one in college athletics has an emoji on their college football field.”

The new turf will have its unofficial debut on Saturday when the Trojans take the field for the first fall scrimmage.

Jones has high expectations for not only the football team, but for all of athletics. His focus is on continuing the upward trajectory the department is already on as he notes several successes Troy has found in all areas.

These include key wins over major programs such as women’s basketball’s win over Ole Miss and baseball’s run to regionals two seasons ago. Volleyball just signed a top-100 recruiting class and softball has surged to the top of the Sun Belt, as well.

Jones hearkens back to his introductory press conference to describe the state of Troy sports.

“What’s the ceiling for Troy athletics? There is no ceiling. The momentum we have right now across all of our sports is what gets me up and makes me excited every single day. Our trajectory is real.”