Jans leaves New Mexico State for Mississippi State

Mar. 20—Hours after New Mexico State was eliminated in a hard-fought loss to Arkansas Saturday in the NCAA Tournament's second round, NMSU announced Sunday that men's basketball head coach Chris Jans is leaving to accept the same position at Mississippi State.

"It's no secret that Chris Jans' name has been in the mix for a number of other jobs, especially after what he has done for our program over the last five seasons," said New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia in a statement from the school. "This is an opportunity for Chris that is long overdue. What he accomplished in Las Cruces will be remembered forever, and we wish Chris the best of luck as he continues his head coaching career."

Moccia said NMSU will consider associate head coach James Miller for the head coaching position.

Mario Moccia on what he's looking for in new MBB coach at New Mexico State. Says here that if James Miller is interested, he'll automatically be a finalist for the job. pic.twitter.com/iqAFUReAhv

— Colin Deaver (@ColinDeaverTV) March 20, 2022

Since taking over as the Aggies' head coach prior to the start of the 2017-18 season, the Fairbank, Iowa, native went 122-32 (.793) which included a 63-13 (.829) showing in Western Athletic Conference regular-season contests. Only Gonzaga's Mark Few possesses a better in-conference winning percentage than Jans' mark when taking a look at each and every NCAA Division I head coach in that same span, NMSU said.

NMSU said the search for Jans' replacement is national and begins immediately. Moccia is looking for two basketball head coaches: Women's coach Brooke Atkinson's contract was not renewed.