Troy names Jones new Athletic Director
TROY, Alabama – Brent Jones was introduced as Troy University’s new Director of Athletics following a two-year stint as Troy’s Deputy Director of Athletics for External Operations, Troy University Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., announced at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
“Since the inception of Trojan athletics in 1909, nine athletic directors have served the university, and I have been privileged to appoint six of those,” Dr. Hawkins said. “The applicant pool for this appointment was the strongest in our history. All six finalists were well qualified, and I believe all six will become Division l ADs.
“At the end of this search process, we realized the best fit for us at this time is Brent Jones. Brent has a record of leadership success at the DI level, particularly in revenue generation. He was an All-American student-athlete, and he knows TROY University. I am proud to appoint Brent as the 10th AD in our history.”
In his role as Deputy Director of Athletics, Jones had oversight of marketing, communications, advertising, ticket sales, Troy Sports Properties, broadcasting, promotions, fan engagement, fan experience, branding, licensing and trademarks. He served as the sport administrator for the baseball program and was in charge of football scheduling.
“I am excited and honored to serve as the next Director of Athletics for Troy University,” Jones said. “Collectively we will work to continue our unparalleled success and momentum across all of our sports and department.”
Troy has set numerous benchmarks during his tenure including record breaking attendance numbers for Troy football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, softball and baseball. Additionally, Troy has posted its largest licensing revenue in department history with a 34 percent increase in funds and a 111 percent increase in retailers selling Troy merchandise under Jones’ watch. Troy has also set departmental records for revenue in the areas of corporate sponsorships, ticket sales and development – Troy saw a 33 percent increase in ticket revenue and a 39 percent increase in donations.
Six of the top eight single-game Troy football crowds have occurred in the last two seasons, and Troy led the Sun Belt Conference in total attendance for the first time in school history in 2018. Troy’s nine percent increase in attendance from 2016 to 2017 was the 21stlargest in the country and Troy has generated more than 1,750 additional season ticket sales over that span.
Jones has secured home-and-home football games with Mississippi State, Memphis, Southern Miss and Western Kentucky while also scheduling guarantee games against Clemson, Tennessee, South Carolina and Kansas State.
Jones spearheaded a partnership with Troy University’s Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management program to offer a revenue generation class that provides assistance in outbound sales efforts, ticket sales, marketing, hospitality, customer service and retention efforts.
Also several unique campaigns and events have been established including an online athletic merchandise store, the football Tailgate Terrace Concert Series, OneTROY Friday’s, the Community Hero’s ticket plan, bowl socials around the state and a marketing, sales, and best practices partnership with the Montgomery Biscuits, performing a Trojan Takeover in New Orleans and Mobile during Troy’s two most recent bowl appearances and hosting a Troy University graduation in New Orleans for graduating football, cheerleaders and band members during the R&L New Orleans bowl game.
Jones has also developed partnerships with Tailgate Guys, Affinity Licensing and IMG-Learfield Ticket Solutions with the overall goal of better serving the Troy fanbase and generating additional revenue.
He joined the Troy staff from Southern Miss where he most recently served as the Senior Associate AD for External Affairs. During the During his tenure at Southern Miss, the Golden Eagles set numerous attendance records in baseball, men’s basketball, softball, volleyball, soccer including having the highest attended football and women’s basketball game in each program’s history. Additionally, under Jones’ guidance Southern Miss led Conference USA in football attendance in 2015 and 2016 including a 25 percent increase in overall attendance. The 25 percent increase in attendance ranked top 10 nationally in improved attendance for 2015.
Jones had direct oversight and responsibility for the areas of sports marketing, licensing, IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions, the ticket office, communications, the M-Club, social media, digital and creative services, sports technology and video operations, multimedia, broadcasting and IMG College.
Jones was heavily involved with the design, implementation, creation, and rollout of the new athletics logo that included a new primary mark, secondary marks, updated fonts, supporting fonts, a detailed logo website, and established a new brand standard. The logo was successfully trademarked with the USPTO in the summer of 2015 which represented the first time Southern Miss Athletics had a registered and protected eagle logo.
Prior to Southern Miss, Jones spent five years at Georgia Southern University, first as the Director of Eagle Sports Marketing and then as the Assistant Athletic Director of Eagle Sports Marketing. While there, he raised $8 million in external funding through sponsorships, VIP suites, ticket sales and corporate trade outs. In addition, he secured the top three largest corporate sponsorships in the history of the GSU athletics program as well as helping to increase football season ticket revenue by 100 percent over that span.
Jones is a 2013 graduate of the prestigious D1A Institute and a member of NACDA, ICLA, and NACMA. He is a frequent speaker and presenter for the NACMA and ICLA conventions as well as being an attendee for the inaugural Surefire Baseball Forum. Jones was a standout college baseball player at Oglethorpe University.
He is married to the former Tracey Styers and they have two children, son Jaxson and daughter Payton Grace.
