William L. Jones (May 12, 1936 – August 19, 2008)
was an American
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
head coach and athletic director. He is best known for leading the
North Alabama Lions men's basketball
The North Alabama Lions men's basketball team represents University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, United States. The school's team currently competes in the ASUN Conference. On July 1, 2018 they joined the ASUN Conference in all sports, ...
program from 1974 to 1988, winning the
1979 NCAA Division II national championship, as well as appearances in three other
Final Fours.
The 1978–79 North Alabama team was the first college basketball team from the state of Alabama to win a national championship.
[ After 14 head coaching seasons in which he won three conference regular season championships, three conference tournaments, made six NCAA Tournaments, and compiled a 251–141 overall record, Jones retired to become North Alabama's first full-time ]athletic director
An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...
in 1988.[ On August 19, 2008, Jones died in Glenwood Rehabilitation and Convalescent Center in ]Florence, Alabama
Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...
.[ He was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.][
He was the grandfather of former ]National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
player Barrett Jones
Barrett A. Jones (born May 25, 1990) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Early years
Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He atten ...
.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bill
1936 births
2008 deaths
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Alabama
Basketball players from Alabama
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Guards (basketball)
High school basketball coaches in the United States
North Alabama Lions athletic directors
Jones, Bill, 1936
North Alabama Lions men's basketball players