JONESBORO – Arkansas State University System President Dr. Chuck Welch announced Wednesday that Jeff Purinton, a highly-respected and veteran athletics administrator who most recently spent the last seven years as part of the Alabama Athletics Department’s executive staff, has been named the Red Wolves’ Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics.

Purinton comes to A-State following a 15-year stint at the University of Alabama, but his path to Jonesboro also included professional stops working with the Orange Bowl Committee (2006-07) and the Florida State Athletics Department (1994-2006) while also having a national presence on multiple college football committees.

“I could not be more excited about the hiring of Jeff Purinton as the next Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics at Arkansas State,” Welch said.  “From the very first conversation I had with Jeff, I knew that he was someone who would elevate our program to unforeseen heights.  Jeff’s experience, combined with his incredible relationship skills and his network across the nation, made him an exceptional candidate for our position.  Jeff has literally overseen every aspect of a premier athletics department, and every single person I talked with said it is his time to run his own department.  I am thrilled that department is ours, and I cannot wait to see what he accomplishes for our university.”

Purinton most recently served as Alabama’s Executive Deputy Director of Athletics after being elevated to the position in 2021, but also held Deputy AD (2019-21), Executive Associate AD (2018-19), Senior Associate AD (2015-18) and Associate Athletics Director for Football Communications (2007-15) titles during his time with the Crimson Tide.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be named the next Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics at Arkansas State University,” Purinton said. “Thank you to System President Chuck Welch and everyone involved in the search process. It was handled in a first-class manner all the way through. I definitely had an interest when I got the first call about it, and after I had a chance to sit down and talk in-person with Chuck and Brad (Phelps), I was certain Arkansas State was a school I wanted to be a part of.  They were genuine and authentic, and you felt a trust with them right off the bat. I felt like it was the right place and the right timing, but most importantly the chance to work with the right people.

“Successful college athletics programs have alignment with their leadership, and I believe that is a strength at Arkansas State,” continued Purinton.  “I am excited to be associated with an outstanding program that has enjoyed many achievements in the classroom, in competition and in the community, and I look forward to continuing to develop the Red Wolves’ strong national brand.

“We can’t wait to get to campus and meet our student-athletes, coaches, staff members, donors and fans. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Jonesboro, and our family is excited to get to know the community and be part of that.  Wolves up!”

Arkansas State will hold a 1:00 p.m. press conference Monday, May 9, at the Centennial Bank Athletics Operations Center officially introducing Purinton as the Red Wolves’ 13th athletics director.  The press conference is open to the public, and it will be streamed live on AState.edu, the official web site of Arkansas State University.

While operating as Executive Deputy Director of Athletics, Purinton was the sport administrator for football as well as the men’s and women’s golf programs after previously overseeing men’s basketball. Additionally, he supervised several departments within athletics, including human resources, marketing and trademark licensing and was the liaison to Crimson Tide Sports Marketing, Alabama’s LEARFIELD property.

When current Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne was hired to lead the Crimson Tide in 2017, Purinton was charged with the creation and implementation of the department’s new strategic plan.  He served on the leadership group that helped develop and launch the department’s new fundraising initiative (The Crimson Standard) with a 10-year goal of raising $600 million. The first phase of the campaign included renovations to both football locker rooms, the Sports Science Center at the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility, Rhoads Softball Stadium, as well as recruiting and premium areas at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Alabama football won six national championships in Purinton’s time at UA and took home numerous team and individual national awards. Widely known as one of the best venues in college football, Purinton oversaw the revision of the football game-day production in 2017, improving the overall atmosphere and interaction from the crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Part of that process included the implementation of new LED stadium lighting in 2019, which received positive reviews from both the players and fans.

In March 2019, Purinton assisted Byrne in the search for a new head men’s basketball coach that resulted in the hiring of Nate Oats from Buffalo. In Oats’ second season at Alabama (and first full season), the 2020-21 team won both the regular-season and Southeastern Conference Tournament championships for the first time in 30 years and later advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 and finished No. 5 in the final national rankings. Herb Jones was named SEC Player of the Year and earned All-America honors, while Oats was voted the SEC Coach of the Year. The 2021-22 squad once again advanced to the NCAA Tournament.  In 2018, the Tide men’s basketball team received an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 2012 and earned its first NCAA win since 2006.

In addition to working with several of Alabama’s successful athletics teams, Purinton was the department oversight to one of the top Learfield/IMG College groups in the nation in Crimson Tide Sports Marketing. CTSM was selected as the 2017 Learfield Property of the Year after setting record-highs in revenue generation. Alabama has also ranked in the top two in royalties generated among the Collegiate Licensing Company’s partner institutions each of the last 11 years and was No. 1 in five of the last six seasons.

In 2021, Alabama football’s social media accounts each eclipsed the 1 million follower threshold, becoming the only college athletics team to reach this feat on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Combined, Alabama athletics social channels generated north of 1.1 billion impressions in 2020. With ties to social media and some of the other external units, Purinton is on the department’s committee responsible for Alabama’s plan for name, image and likeness and assisted with the creation of The Advantage, a comprehensive program that provides Tide student-athletes with the education and tools necessary to build and elevate their personal brands.

Purinton was hired at Alabama in the summer of 2007 as the Associate Athletics Director for Football Communications, handling all external areas of the program for Coach Nick Saban. He has coordinated each of the 12 ESPN College GameDay visits to Tuscaloosa as Alabama has hosted the show more than any other school during that time frame. In addition to building and maintaining relationships with national media and the marketing/promotion of Crimson Tide football, Purinton helped strategize and implement plans for the Crimson Caravan (spring booster tour). He was promoted to oversee all external areas within the department as well as the Crimson Tide Celebrity Golf Tournament beginning in June of 2015.

“My family and I want to thank everyone at the University of Alabama for an amazing 15 years working with the Crimson Tide,” Purinton said.  “We’ve developed lifelong friends and relationships during our time at UA, and we are so appreciative of the opportunity we had in Tuscaloosa. Greg Byrne and Coach Saban have been so supportive, especially during this process, and I want to thank them specifically.”

In 2006, Purinton was hired by the Orange Bowl Committee (OBC) as the Director of Media Relations and Communications. That year, the OBC eclipsed attendance and revenue goals for the Basketball Classic, Fan Fest, Pregame Tailgate Party and Fed Ex Orange Bowl (Louisville versus Wake Forest). Purinton also produced a weekly Orange Bowl radio show and a television program that featured the bowl-sponsored youth football initiative. He led planning for the 2009 BCS National Championship Game which included a $1.4 million media budget.

Prior to the Orange Bowl and Alabama, Purinton spent more than a decade at Florida State University working in various roles in the athletics department. He began as a student assistant in sports information during his undergraduate years, and followed up as a graduate assistant in 1998. He was promoted to a full-time role as assistant SID in 1999, where he worked directly with two of the winningest coaches in college history in Head Football Coach Bobby Bowden and Head Baseball Coach Mike Martin. In addition to the baseball and football SID duties, Purinton was the travel advance coordinator for the football program from 1999-2006.

In total, Purinton worked with 12 bowl teams at FSU including the 2000 Sugar Bowl where FSU defeated Virginia Tech to win the 1999 national title. He made two trips to the College World Series as the SID for the Seminole baseball program (1999 and 2000). In the 1999 season with FSU baseball, Marshall McDougall set the NCAA record with six home runs in a single game, and that team went on to finish runner-up at the national championship. From 2004-06, Purinton was the primary Sports Information Director for football.

Purinton has served on several College Football National Championship Game media coordination committees while working at Alabama and the Orange Bowl and was a member of the College Football 150th Anniversary Committee. He has successfully helped promote four Heisman Trophy winning campaigns (Chris Weinke at Florida State; Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, DeVonta Smith at Alabama) along with a Campbell Trophy winner (Barrett Jones at Alabama).

Purinton is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Director of Athletics and the Football Writers Associate of America. He was a 2019 NEXT UP honoree by CollegeAD and was selected to attend the NACDA AD Mentoring Institute (2017 & 2019) and the Lead1 Institute (2018). From 2016-17, Purinton served as the athletics department coordinator for the University’s United Way campaign.

A native of Palatka, Fla., Purinton received his bachelor’s degree in sports management and master’s in athletics administration at Florida State University. He and his wife Julie have two daughters, Jillian and Josie.

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JONESBORO – Former Arkansas State running back and All-America return specialist Alan Lamar and tight end Ross Painter were named Wednesday to the 2022 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society.

The Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers.  A total of 1,559 players from 313 schools qualified for membership in the Society’s 16th year.

A-State has now had 31 players receive the honor all-time, including multiple selections each of the last three years.  The Red Wolves had a school-record five student-athletes earn the recognition in 2015.

A graduate transfer from Yale, Lamar’s lone season with the Red Wolves in 2021 saw him collect First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors and earn All-America recognition as a return specialist from Pro Football Focus (PFF), Pro Football Network (PFN), Phil Steele and Sports Info Solutions (SIS).  He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Yale and is currently pursuing his master’s in sport administration from Arkansas State University.

Painter spent the last four seasons as a member of the A-State football team, posting his first career touchdown in 2021. An A-State Athletics Director’s Honor Roll member, he earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management from Arkansas State University in December of 2020 and is currently pursuing his master’s in sport administration.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF’s National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year.  The program further strengthens the organization’s leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes at the 771 college and universities with football programs nationwide.  The initiative has now honored 14,640 student-athletes since its inception.

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LAFAYETTE, La. – Caleb Fields drained a game-tying 3-pointer with three-tenths of a second remaining to send the game to overtime, but the Arkansas State men’s basketball team fell in overtime, 83-77, Thursday against Louisiana.

A-State drops to 10-4 on the season and 1-1 in Sun Belt play while the Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 8-5 overall and 3-0 in league play.

Norchad Omier had game-highs with 29 points and 17 rebounds for his ninth double-double this season and 24th career. Markise Davis joined Omier in double figures with 11 points while Caleb Fields had nine points, seven assists and five rebounds. Marquis Eaton scored six of his nine points and the charity stripe and Desi Sills added eight points, four assists and four rebounds. Kobe Julien led the Ragin’ Cajuns with 20 points with Theo Akwuba and Dou Gueye registering double-doubles.

The first 20 minutes had seven lead changes with the Ragin’ Cajuns leading for much of the half. A-State forced eight Ragin’ Cajuns miscues, but the hosts held a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers for the half. After six first half turnovers, the Red Wolves committed just three turnovers over the final 25 minutes.

Trailing much of the second half, A-State saw the Ragin’ Cajuns used an 8-0 run to lead 62-53 with 8:36 to play. The Red Wolves clawed back with Davis draining a corner 3-pointer to tie the game at 66 with 3:40 left in regulation. An alley-oop from Fields to Omier gave A-State a 68-67 lead, the first lead for the Red Wolves since an 11-10 lead at 12:46 of the first half.

Louisiana tallied the next five points, but A-State refused to go away. After the Ragin’ Cajuns split a pair of free throws with 13.3 seconds remaining, A-State had a chance to tie and Fields drained the game-tying 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.3 showing on the clock. The game went to overtime, the first for A-State since January of last season and the Ragin’ Cajuns outscored the Red Wolves 8-4 for the victory. A-State was limited to 1-of-8 shooting in the extra frame while the Ragin’ Cajuns scored four of their eight points at the charity stripe.

Behind 17 rebounds from Omier, A-State out-rebounded the Ragin’ Cajuns 41-40. The Red Wolves logged 15 assists on 25 made field goals, but finished 35.2 percent (25-71) from the field and 27.8 percent (5-18) beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Ragin’ Cajuns shot 50.0 percent (30-60) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-14) from 3-point range. A-State was 22-of-27 (.815) at the line while the hosts were 18-of-24 (.750). The Ragin’ Cajuns outscored A-State 42-30 in the paint and 17-8 off turnovers.

A-State continues the road trip Saturday at ULM. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Fant-Ewing Coliseum with the matchup airing on ESPN+ and across the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network and flagship station 107.9 KFIN. For the latest on A-State men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMB), Facebook (/AStateMB) and Instagram (@astatemb).

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JONESBORO – Led by four players scoring in double figures, the Arkansas State men’s basketball team won its Sun Belt Conference opener and third consecutive game with a 74-56 victory over Georgia Southern on Saturday at First National Bank Arena.

The Red Wolves have now won seven of their last eight games and stand 10-3 overall, including a 7-1 mark at home.  They connected on 43.9 percent of their shots and made 19-of-20 free throws, while limiting Georgia Southern (7-6, 0-2) to a .367 field goal percentage.

A-State was led by Norchad Omier with a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds, giving the second-year freshman forward eight double-doubles this season and 23 for his career.  Marquis Eaton and Desi Sills both finished with 15 points, while Caleb Fields added 11.

While A-State never trailed and held a 13-point lead, 23-10, with just over six minutes remaining in the first half, it took just a 27-22 lead into the break.  However, the Red Wolves scored 12 of the first 16 points to start the second half and rebuilt their lead to 13.

A-State, which outscored Georgia Southern 47-34 in the second half, held a double-digit lead the rest of the way as its advantage reached as much as 26 points, 71-45, with just under two minutes remaining.

The Red Wolves held a 39-35 advantage on the boards, improving to 10-0 on the year when outrebounding their opponent.  They collected six blocks as well, tying their second most this year.

In addition to his 15 points, Sills also posted a career-high five steals, helping the Red Wolves register 12 as a team to tie their second most this year.  Fields’ day also included seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a career-high two blocks.

Georgia Southern was led by two players scoring in double digits, including junior forward Andrei Savrasov with 13 and senior guard Kaden Archie with 12.

Arkansas State returns to action Thursday, Jan. 6, with a 7:00 p.m. game at Louisiana.  The contest will appear on ESPN+, and every A-State men’s basketball team can be heard live on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network, including flagship station 107.9 FM in the Northeast Arkansas area.  For the latest on A-State men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMB), Facebook (/AStateMB) and Instagram (@astatemb).

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STATESBORO, Ga. – For the second consecutive game, the Arkansas State women’s basketball team faced a double-digit second-half deficit on the road on Thursday at Georgia Southern.

However, A-State (7-7, 0-1 SBC) could not make it two straight come-from-behind road triumphs, falling 84-75 to the Eagles (10-3, 1-0) at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Red Wolves trailed by as much as 13 early in the fourth quarter and clawed back to cut it to one with under 2 minutes remaining, but strong free-throw shooting late allowed the Eagles to hold on for the win to open Sun Belt Conference play.

Lauryn Pendleton led a trio of double-digit scorers for A-State with 16 points off the bench to go along with 6 rebounds. Trinitee Jackson dropped 10 points and 6 boards while Keya Patton also chipped in 10 points. Morgan Wallace was the game’s top rebounder, grabbing 10 off the glass.

A-State shot 39.7 percent from the field on 25 of 63 shooting and connected on 19 of 26 from the free-throw line (73.1 percent). Every player who saw time for the Red Wolves scored in the contest.

Georgia Southern’s Mya Burns led all players with 23 points, while Ja’nya Love Hill added 13. Simone James and Thaniya Marks tallied 10 points apiece. James and Tsubasa Nisbet led the Eagles with 7 rebounds apiece as Georgia Southern out-rebounded A-State 45-39. The Eagles shot 43.1 percent (28 of 65) from the floor and 74.2 percent (23 of 31) from the charity stripe, including 10 of 12 in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles scored five of the game’s first seven points before A-State’s lone lead in the outing came midway through the quarter on a jumper by Kiayra Ellis. A 7-0 run put the Eagles ahead 14-8 before a Patton trey made it 18-15 late in the period. Georgia Southern led 21-15 after the first 10 minutes.

A Jackson layup knotted it up at 23-all to cap off an 8-2 run to open the second quarter, but the Eagles hit key shots down the stretch to own a five-point lead at halftime. A-State outscored Georgia Southern 22-21 in the quarter.

Georgia Southern managed to create some distance in the third quarter, leading by as much as 12 on a three by Daeja Holmes at the 1:08 mark that made it 65-53. After a Jade Upshaw corner three cut it back down to single digits, Love-Hill netted a jumper in the paint to give her team a 67-56 advantage entering the final quarter.

A lay-in by Lydia Freeman early in the fourth gave Georgia Southern its largest lead of the day at 69-56 but then A-State picked up the pressure defensively and began to battle back. Pendleton helped lead that charge with six points of a 13-2 stretch that made it a two-point contest with 2:50 to play. After a pair of Burns free throws made it 73-69, Mailyn Wilkerson found Patton in the corner off the inbounds for the three to make it 73-72 with 1:54 remaining.

That would be as close as it would get, however, as Georgia Southern closed on an 11-3 run that included eight free throws to close out the contest.

A-State returns home to host Louisiana at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, to open a four-game home stand. The Red Wolves were originally slated to ring in the new year at home against Georgia State on Saturday, but COVID-19 concerns within the GSU program caused the game in Jonesboro to be canceled.

Thursday’s game against the Ragin’ Cajuns will be broadcast on ESPN+, while the radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network flagship station 95.3/96.9 The Ticket/970 AM.

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JONESBORO – Led by a career-high 31 points and game-high 10 rebounds from forward Norchad Omier, the Arkansas State men’s basketball team claimed an 88-66 victory over Lyon College Tuesday at First National Bank Arena to wrap up its non-conference schedule.

The Red Wolves have now won six of their last seven games to improve their record to 9-3 overall and 6-1 at home.  Since joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1991-92, A-State won nine non-conference games for just the fourth time and first time since the 2016-17 season.

Omier was responsible for the most points scored by an Arkansas State player this season, making 15 field goals that were just two shy of the First National Bank Arena record.  He was joined in double figures by juniors Markise Davis and Desi Sills with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

The Red Wolves made 40-of-74 shots for a .541 field goal percentage, while limiting the Scots to a .377 percentage and turning the ball over a season-low seven times.  They also blocked a season-high seven shots and dished out 25 assists, their second most of the year, on their 40 buckets that were a season high.

The game’s first 14 minutes featured four ties and two lead changes as neither team led by more than seven points.  However, with the score knotted 27-27 at the 6:06 mark, A-State put together an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead for good.

The Red Wolves took a 45-35 advantage into the break before outscoring the Scots 43-31 in the second half.  They opened the final 20 minutes with 22-9 run to push their lead to 67-44 with 12:58 remaining and extended the advantage to as many as 24 points.

Omier collected his seventh double-double of the season and 22nd of his career as his team-leading 10 rebounds helped A-State post a 42-31 advantage on the boards.  While senior guard Marquis Eaton scored just six points in the game, it pushed his career total to 1,465 to move him into a tie with Chico Fletcher (1996-2000) for the seventh most in school history.

Lyon was led by two players scoring in double figures, including Ben Keton with a game-high 24 points and John Paul Morgan with 11.

Arkansas State returns to action Thursday, Dec. 30, beginning Sun Belt Conference action with a 7:00 p.m. home game against Georgia State.  The contest will appear on ESPN+, and every A-State men’s basketball game can be heard live on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network, including flagship station 107.9 FM in the Northeast Arkansas area.

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JONESBORO – Arkansas State Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Tom Bowen announced Monday night that Matt Daniel has chosen to resign his position as head women’s basketball coach, effective immediately.

“I was informed tonight by Matt Daniel that he has decided to resign as our head women’s basketball coach,” Bowen said.  “I was disappointed to learn of his decision, and I was emphatic in my conversation with him that we wanted him to remain as our head coach.  While Coach Daniel’s decision to resign isn’t our Athletics Department’s desired outcome, we want to thank him for everything he did for our program as head coach and wish him the best moving forward.”

Daniel was in his third season as head coach of the A-State women’s basketball program, which has played 10 games this season.  Bowen said an interim head coach will be announced Tuesday morning.

“I want to thank Dr. (Kelly) Damphousse and Dr. (Chuck) Welch for the opportunity to serve as the head women’s basketball coach at Arkansas State,” said Daniel.  “I love A-State and NEA, and I’m proud to call Jonesboro my hometown.  Personally, I believe it is in my and my family’s best interest that I step aside and allow the athletics administration to get their coach in place.”

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JONESBORO – Arkansas State wide receiver Corey Rucker was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after posting nine receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns during the Red Wolves’ season-opening 40-21 victory over Central Arkansas.

Rucker was tabbed the league’s offensive player of the week for the second time of his career, also earning the recognition last year following A-State’s season finale against ULM.  Dating back to that game, the second-year freshman has posted a combined 18 receptions for 448 yards and seven touchdowns over his last two games played.

The Yazoo City, Miss., native posted all three of his touchdown catches, which were only shy of tying his own school record, in the second half to help the Red Wolves overcome a 7-6 halftime deficit and pick up the 19-point victory.  His 138 receiving yards were the second most of his career, while his nine receptions tied his personal best.

Rucker’s first touchdown catch covered 34 yards and extended A-State lead to 20-7, and his next two covered eight and 33 yards.  He increased his career numbers to 25 receptions for 591 yards and eight touchdowns, which are four shy of tying the ninth most in school history.

The Red Wolves won their season opener for the first time since 2018 and now turn their attention to Memphis, facing the Tigers this Saturday, Sept. 11, at 6:00 p.m. at Centennial Bank Stadium.

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NEW ORLEANS – The Arkansas State men’s and women’s cross country teams have been predicted to win the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships, as determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches. The Sun Belt on Wednesday released its 2021 Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Polls.

The Arkansas State and App State men both earned 91 points, but the Red Wolves received four first-place votes. The Mountaineers and South Alabama garnered three first-place votes apiece.  App State has won two of the last four Sun Belt Men’s Cross Country Championships – most recently in 2019 – while South Alabama captured last season’s league title.

The Arkansas State women accumulated 139 points and seven first-place votes. App State picked up five first-place votes. Arkansas State has won the last two Sun Belt Women’s Cross Country Championships.

The 2021 Sun Belt Conference Championships are set for Friday, October 29, at Brookley by the Bay in Mobile, Ala., hosted by the University of South Alabama.

2021 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
T1. Arkansas State (4) – 91
T1. App State (3) – 91
3. South Alabama (3) – 88
4. UTA – 68
5. Texas State – 58
6. Little Rock – 43
7. Louisiana – 41
8. Coastal Carolina – 29
9. Troy – 25
10. ULM – 16

2021 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll 
1. Arkansas State (7) – 139
2. App State (5) – 136
3. South Alabama – 115
4. Troy – 98
5. UTA – 90
6. Texas State – 74
7. Coastal Carolina – 69
8. Little Rock – 56
9. Georgia Southern – 42
10. ULM – 41
11. Georgia State – 39
12. Louisiana – 37

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JONESBORO – With the Arkansas State football team’s first season under new head coach Butch Jones set to kickoff in just under a month, the Red Wolves reported for fall camp Thursday at the Centennial Bank Athletics Operations Center.

Jones and his staff will lead an A-State squad that features 60 returning lettermen and over 50 newcomers through its first of 15 fall-camp practices on Friday afternoon.  The Red Wolves will conduct a pair of scrimmages August 14 and 21, while also holding its annual Media Day Aug. 19, before classes at Arkansas State University begin on Aug. 24.

“Our players have worked exceptionally hard since the conclusion of spring football,” Jones said.  “Everyone in our organization is looking forward to the start of camp and continuing the process of improving each and every day.  We must display consistency every practice to make those improvements as we continue our preparations for the season.”

A-State, which was predicted to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division according to the league’s preseason coaches poll, will kickoff its 2021 campaign on Sept. 4 with a home game against Central Arkansas.  Hosting Memphis a week later, the Red Wolves will begin their season with back-to-back games at Centennial Bank Stadium for the first time since 1987.

Jones, A-State’s 31st all-time head coach, takes over a program that posted a 4-7 record in 2020, but had previously posted nine consecutive bowl-game appearances and won five Sun Belt Conference championships between 2011-19.

Between Athlon Sports, Phil Steele’s, College Football News and Pro Football Focus, 13 different A-State players this season have received preseason All-Sun Belt Conference recognition.

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