New Spartan football coach will tackle dual role at M State
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.
