Norfolk State University Athletics

Robert Jones File

Coaching Timeline

2014–Pres Norfolk State (HC)

2013–14 Norfolk State (Interim HC)

2012–13 Norfolk State (Assoc. HC)

2007–12 Norfolk State (Asst.)

2005–07 St. Mary's HS – NY (HC)

2001–04 Bard / SUNY New Paltz (Asst.)

Hall of Fame

2026 Norfolk State Athletics HOF

2022 SUNY New Paltz Hawks Athletics HOF

Head coach Robert Jones enters his 14th season leading the Norfolk State men's basketball program in 2026-27 and his 20th year overall with the Spartans. Since taking over the program in 2013, Jones has established Norfolk State as one of the premier programs in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), compiling a 251-176 overall record and a 143-51 mark in conference play. During his tenure, the Spartans have captured three MEAC Tournament championships, five regular season conference titles, earned nine postseason appearances, and advanced to three NCAA Tournaments.

Jones has been recognized as one of the nation's top mid-major coaches, earning three MEAC Coach of the Year awards (2019, 2022, 2024), the 2022 Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award, the 2022 Hugh Durham Award as the nation's top Division I mid-major coach, and the 2025 Eddie Robinson Award from the Advancement of Blacks in Sports (ABIS). He has also been named MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Coach three times and has been a finalist for numerous national coaching honors throughout his career.

During the 2025-26 season, Jones guided the Spartans through a season of transition, finishing 15-17 overall and 8-6 in MEAC play while earning the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. Norfolk State placed four players on the All-MEAC teams, highlighted by BOXTOROW Second Team All-American and First-Team All-MEAC selection Anthony McComb III. Elijah Jamison earned MEAC Sixth Man of the Year and All-MEAC Second Team honors, while freshmen Adrean Newton and My'kel Jenkins were both named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team.

Jones followed one of the most successful stretches in program history with back-to-back 24-win seasons in 2023-24 and 2024-25. The Spartans captured the 2025 MEAC regular season and tournament championships to earn an NCAA Tournament berth after winning the conference title game in dramatic fashion over South Carolina State. Jones also led Norfolk State to the program's first Division I postseason tournament championship in 2024, winning the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).

His 2023-24 squad claimed the MEAC regular season championship and posted a signature road victory over VCU, while Jamarii Thomas earned MEAC Player of the Year honors. The previous season, Norfolk State reached the MEAC Championship game and defeated Hampton twice, including victories in both the Chris Paul HBCU Challenge and the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic.

Jones' breakthrough 2021-22 campaign cemented his status among the nation's elite mid-major coaches. The Spartans finished 24-7, captured both the MEAC regular season and tournament championships, earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, and opened the season with the best start in Division I program history at 9-1. Norfolk State finished nationally ranked in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25, while Jones collected MEAC Coach of the Year, Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year, Hugh Durham Award, and BOXTOROW Co-Coach of the Year honors.

The success began during the 2020-21 season when Jones led Norfolk State to the MEAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament First Four victory over Appalachian State. The Spartans became the only current MEAC member to win multiple NCAA Tournament games, and the team was recognized as the HBCU Large School National Champion by the Black College Sports Network.

Under Jones' leadership, Norfolk State has become one of the nation's most consistent mid-major programs. His teams have produced 34 All-MEAC selections, multiple conference Players of the Year, Newcomers of the Year, Defensive Players of the Year, and numerous All-Americans. More than 20 players have gone on to play professionally following their careers in Norfolk, including NBA draft pick Kyle O'Quinn.

Jones has also overseen one of the most statistically successful eras in program history. The Spartans have set numerous Division I school records while consistently ranking among the nation's leaders in turnover margin, assists, rebounding, and offensive efficiency. Norfolk State has finished in the top four of the MEAC standings in all but one season during Jones' tenure and owns one of the nation's best conference winning percentages among long-tenured Division I head coaches.

Jones assumed the role of interim head coach in April 2013 following the departure of Anthony Evans after serving six seasons on the Spartans' coaching staff. As associate head coach, he helped Norfolk State capture the 2012 MEAC Tournament championship and upset No. 2 seed Missouri in one of the most memorable victories in NCAA Tournament history before helping guide the Spartans to an undefeated 16-0 MEAC regular season championship and an NIT appearance in 2013.

Before arriving at Norfolk State, Jones spent two seasons as the head coach at St. Mary's High School in Manhasset, N.Y., following assistant coaching stops at Bard College and his alma mater, SUNY New Paltz. A standout player at New Paltz, Jones was a three-time All-SUNYAC selection, an honorable mention Division III All-American, and was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.

Jones earned his bachelor's degree in business management from SUNY New Paltz in 2002 and completed the NCAA's Achieving Coaching Excellence (ACE) program in 2011.