Ron Jirsa, who has more than 40 years of coaching experience, joined the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball program as an assistant coach in May of 2024.
In 2024-25, Jirsa helped the Colonels win 18 games and stay in the running for a second straight Atlantic Sun Conference Championship up until the final week of the season.
EKU beat East Tennessee, led Clemson by four with less than 13 minutes left in the game and nearly beat Louisville during the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Cardinals had to hit a last second shot to beat EKU by one. Once conference season started, the Colonels put together their longest conference winning streak in 59 years. An 8-game ASUN winning streak allowed the team to climb to the top of the league standings, beating eventual champion Lipscomb twice during that run. The team also had three wins against two more postseason tournament teams – Florida Gulf Coast (2) and Queens (1).
During the 2024-25 season, the Colonels ranked 14th in NCAA Division I in offensive rebounds, 25th in turnovers committed, 25th in turnover margin, 33rd in steals and 37th in 3-pointers made.
Devontae Blanton earned first team All-ASUN honors and was a candidate for ASUN Player of the Year after putting together a season in which he was the only player in the conference ranked among the top-15 in points, rebounds, assists, steals and field goal percentage. George Kimble III joined the program after one season in Division II and became a second team all-conference selection. Mayar Wol was chosen as the ASUN Sixth Man of the Year.
Jirsa spent two years as the head coach at the University of Georgia and four seasons as the head coach at Marshall University. While leading the Thundering Herd, Jirsa was A.W. Hamilton’s coach during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. Hamilton then served under Jirsa as a graduate assistant at Marshall during the 2005-06 season.
“It's an honor to welcome Ron Jirsa, his wife Laura and their daughter Hannah to our basketball family,” said Hamilton. “I had the pleasure to play and work for coach Jirsa at Marshall University. Over the years we've become great friends. His patience, grace and ability to see the best in people is something I look forward to him sharing with our players on and off the floor."
Jirsa’s coaching career began as an assistant at Delaware in 1983-84. He followed that with assistant positions at Virginia Commonwealth (1984-85), Tulsa (1985-88), Belmont Abbey (1988-89) and Gardner-Webb (1990-91).
In 1991, Jirsa returned to Tulsa to join head coach Tubby Smith’s first staff. While serving as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator from 1991 to 1995, Jirsa helped the program reach the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 twice. He also recruited Tulsa’s all-time leading rebounder and 10-year NBA veteran Michael Ruffin.
Jirsa followed Smith to the University of Georgia where he served as associate head coach for two season, 1995-97. He helped the Bulldogs make two NCAA Tournament appearances and advance to the Sweet 16 in 1996. After Smith left UGA, Jirsa was selected as the head coach. He compiled a 35-30 record in two seasons. He led Georgia to back-to-back NIT appearances, including a third-place finish in 1998.
From 1999-03 Jirsa helped the University of Dayton to 88 wins, two NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the NIT as senior assistant coach. The Flyers won the 2003 Atlantic 10 Tournament.
Jirsa followed his stint at Dayton with a 4-year tenure as head coach at Marshall. He directed the program’s transition from the Mid-American Conference to Conference USA, and beat in-state rival West Virginia twice.
In 2007, Jirsa rejoined Smith at the University of Minnesota where he served as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator until 2013. He led the recruiting efforts for top-20 ranked classes in 2007 and 2008. Jirsa helped the Golden Gophers reach the NCAA Tournament in 2009, 2010 and 2013. The team won 23 games and was the NIT runner-up in 2012.
Following his time on the staff at Minnesota, Jirsa was an assistant at Bethel University (2013-14) and Tennessee Tech (2014-15).
In 2015, Jirsa joined Mike Jones’ staff at Radford University and would serve under Jones for the next seven seasons at two different universities. In six years at Radford, he helped the Highlanders win two Big South Conference regular season championships and the 2018 Big South Tournament title. Radford picked up an NCAA Tournament win in the First Four in 2018.
In their first season at UNC Greensboro in 2021-22, Jirsa helped Jones lead the Spartans to the College Basketball Invitational Tournament.
During the 2023-24 season, Jirsa was an assistant coach at River Falls High School in River Falls, Wisconsin.
Jirsa earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in biology from Gettysburg College in 1981 and a master’s of arts in athletic administration from Tulsa in 1987.
