New Spartan football coach will tackle dual role at M State

New Spartan football coach will tackle dual role at M State
Austin Jones to focus full-time on coaching, student athlete retention

After a few years of coaching overseas for European leagues, Austin Jones has returned stateside to
tackle his latest leadership role on a Minnesota football field as the new M State Spartans Head
Football Coach and Student Athlete Retention Specialist.

Jones will serve the college full-time in this newly created dual position. The retention
specialist role was created to support the success of student athletes at the college.

"We are extremely excited to have Austin Jones join Spartan Athletics as a coach and retention
specialist," said Dave Roberts, interim director of athletics, campus life and housing at M State.
"Jones brings with him an excellent resume that demonstrates a high level of football knowledge and
a passion for the game, and we look forward to seeing a positive impact on student retention and
success."

Jones has a 26-11 record across four seasons as head coach of football leagues in Denmark, Italy
and Poland, most recently coaching the Aalborg 89ers in Denmark. Previously, he coached the Padova
Saints in Italy and the Warsaw Sharks and Green Ducks Radom in Poland. He won the PLFA1
championship with the Sharks in 2017 and, that same year, coached the defensive backs and served as
defensive coordinator for Team USA at the World Games in Poland.

An Oregon native, he has coached U.S. college and high school teams in his home state as well as in
Minnesota. He coached at Rochester Community and Technical College in 2019 and 2020, so he's no
stranger to the Minnesota College Athletic Conference, or MCAC – a conference within the National
Junior College Athletic Association, of which M State is a member school.
Just this week, Jones arrived back in Minnesota to embark on his new role with the Spartans.

"In his short time here, Jones has already shown a high level of energy and commitment to building
up the Spartan football program," said Roberts. "We're excited to see what happens over the next
few seasons."

Jones replaces former head football coach Cory Miller, who has assumed another position after four
strong seasons with the Spartans.

A member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities, M State (Minnesota State
Community and Technical College) serves more than 6,500 students in credit courses each year in
over 70 career and liberal arts programs online and in-person at its campuses in Detroit Lakes,
Fergus Falls, Moorhead and Wadena. The college also partners with communities to provide workforce
development services and other responsive training programs to 500 businesses and 9,000
participants.

Minnesota State Community and Technical College is a member of the Minnesota State system and is an
equal opportunity educator /
employer. Upon request, this information is available in alternative formats.