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"When the job opened up, I had one
person in mind and that was Chris Jans," Moser said. "I've known
Chris for a long time. I've recruited his players. I've watched his
teams, and I think he is the whole package. He is a relentless
recruiter who has ties all around the country, and he's an
outstanding coach. He has won everywhere he's been, and I'm excited
about having him join the staff."
Jans shares in Moser's excitement.
"I'm excited to be joining the staff at
Illinois State," Jans said. "I have a lot of respect for Porter and
his staff. I know he has what it takes to turn the (Illinois State)
program around, and I'm just excited to get on board and help him
achieve those goals."
Jans brings a wealth of experience and
success with college basketball to the Redbirds. In his only season
at Chipola, Jans led the Indians to an impressive 32-5 overall
record, its first Panhandle Conference championship in 10 years with
an 11-1 record, its first FCCAA state championship in 16 years and a
sixth-place finish at the NJCAA National Tournament.
Prior to Chipola, the 36-year-old Jans
served two years as the head coach at Howard College in Big Spring,
Texas. He guided Howard to an overall record of 29-4 in 2003. The
Hawks finished the regular season with a national ranking of No. 15
after climbing as high as No. 2 earlier in the year. In 2002, he led
the Hawks to an overall record of 20-10.
During the 1998-99 season, he was the
head coach at Independence Community College in Kansas, guiding the
Pirates to a 22-10 record and a second-place finish in the Kansas
Jayhawk Eastern Division with a 14-4 mark.
Jans received his first head coaching
position at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in July
of 1996, inheriting a team that finished 11-20 the previous season.
Under Jans, the Eagles more than doubled their wins, finishing 25-10
and earning him the Region XI Coach of the Year award. Kirkwood won
both the conference and regional championship in addition to
qualifying for the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, a first
for the Kirkwood program.
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Building off the momentum of his first
season, Jans led Kirkwood to another conference and regional
championship his second season before claiming the NJCAA national
championship. Kirkwood finished the season 31-6, while Jans was
awarded both the Region XI Coach of the Year and the NJCAA National
Coach of the Year.
In his five seasons as a head coach,
Jans has accumulated a 159-45 record in addition to winning a
national championship at the age of 28.
With the Redbirds Jans returns to
Division I, an area he also has experience in. From 1999-2001, Jans
was the top assistant at Idaho, where he served two years under head
coach David Farrar.
Jans began his coaching career at NCAA
Division III Elmhurst College in Chicago in 1992. He was an
assistant coach there for two seasons before taking a similar
position at NAIA Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1994. He
served two years at Grand View before moving to his first head
coaching position at Kirkwood.
Jans played at Loras College in
Dubuque, Iowa, from 1987-1991. He was a three-year starter and
captained the team his senior year, helping the team to a 47-25
record while breaking 16 scoring records and two NCAA Division III
records for 3-point shooting.
He graduated
from Loras College in 1991 with bachelor's degrees in both marketing
and finance. He is a native of Fairbank, Iowa.
[Todd Kober,
assistant athletics director, media relations,
Illinois
State University]
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