Ron Jirsa
Ron Jirsa (born December 21, 1959)
Current position: Assistant men’s basketball coach
Current team: Eastern Kentucky Colonels (Head coach: A.W. Hamilton)
Current conference: ASUN Conference
Teams coached: Georgia Bulldogs, Marshall Thundering Herd
Georgia record: 35-30 (.538)
Marshall record: 43-74 (.368)
Overall record: 78-104 (.429)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 2 (1997, 1998)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2024-present | Eastern Kentucky (asst) |
| 2021-2022 | UNC Greensboro (asst) |
| 2015-2021 | Radford (asst) |
| 2014-2015 | Tennessee Tech (asst) |
| 2013-2014 | Bethel (MN) (asst) |
| 2007-2013 | Minnesota (asst) |
| 2003-2007 | Marshall |
| 1999-2003 | Dayton (asst) |
| 1997-1999 | Georgia |
| 1995-1997 | Georgia (assoc. HC) |
| 1994-1995 | Tulsa (assoc. HC) |
| 1991-1994 | Tulsa (asst) |
| 1990-1991 | Gardner-Webb (asst) |
| 1988-1989 | Belmont Abbey (asst) |
| 1985-1988 | Tulsa (asst) |
| 1984-1985 | VCU (grad. asst) |
| 1983-1984 | Delaware (asst) |
| 1981-1983 | Connecticut College (asst) |
Ron Jirsa Facts
- Ronald Howard Jirsa
- Born December 21, 1959
- Hometown: Ledyard, Connecticut
- Alma Mater: Gettysburg College (BA, 1981) / University of Tulsa (MA, 1987)
- Graduated from Ledyard HS (CT) then played basketball at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania
- Started his coaching career in 1981, spending two seasons assisting at D-III Connecticut College
- For one of those seasons, he was assistant to head coach Dennis Wolff
- Spent one season each as an assistant under Ronald Rainey at Delaware and J. D. Barnett at VCU
- Followed Barnett to Tulsa in 1985, spending three seasons working on the Golden Hurricane staff
- After a year at D-II Belmont Abbey (NC), he was an assistant under Jim Johnson at Gardner-Webb
- Returned to Tulsa in 1991, spending four seasons as an assistant coach under Tubby Smith
- Followed Smith to Georgia in 1995 and was associate head coach for two seasons
- In five seasons under Smith, Jirsa was part of four NCAA Tournaments (and three Sweet Sixteens)
- Took over as Georgia’s head coach in 1997, going to the NIT in both seasons at the helm
- Went 35-30 (13-19 SEC) overall and was fired in 1999
- Moved on to Dayton, spending four seasons working as an assistant for head coach at Oliver Purnell
- Hired to be the head coach at Marshall in 2003, going 43-74 in four seasons with the program
- Finished below .500 each season; program moved from the MAC to C-USA during his tenure
- Reunited with Smith in 2007, working as one of his assistants for six seasons at Minnesota
- Was a part of three NCAA Tournaments and two NITs, including a Runner-up finish in the 2012 NIT
- Worked as recruiting coordinator at D-III Bethel University in Arden Hills, MN for one season, then spent a season as an assistant at Tennessee Tech under head coach Steve Payne
- Joined Mike Jones‘ staff at Radford in 2015, working as lead assistant for six years with the Highlanders
- Was part of one NCAA Tournament and two Big South regular season titles at Radford
- In 2021, Jirsa followed Jones to UNC Greensboro and spent one season as an assistant there before leaving in July 2022
- Retuned to college basketball in 2024, joining the staff of one of his former players, A.W. Hamilton, at Eastern Kentucky
Ron Jirsa Coaching Tree
- A.W. Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky)
- Bob MacKinnon Jr. (Texas Legends, LA D-Fenders, Springfield Armor, Idaho Stampede, Colorado 14ers)
- Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame, Penn State, IU South Bend)
- G.G. Smith (High Point, Loyola MD)