Clint Jones is the new assistant director of St. Edward’s University Campus Recreation as of earlier this semester.

Although Jones will work collaboratively with Andy Lemons, Campus Recreation’s director, he will be in charge of overseeing intramural sports, informal recreation and outdoor adventure. Jones will also work closely with the Recreation and Convocation Center (RCC) student employees to help them develop professionally.

According to Jones, he hopes to change the intramural culture on campus as well.

“I think what hurts us the most is also the best part: Austin,” Jones said.

There is so much to do in the city on weekends, Jones believes, that intramural sports are often the last thing on students’ minds. He hopes to change this through improved structure, increased excitement and more facility space.

Jones said right now he is mostly brainstorming ideas and will start implementing some of them in the spring, but most of the transitions will happen next fall.

Before entering the campus recreation industry, Jones was born and raised in the small town of Gorman, Texas. After graduating from Gorman High School, he attended Texas A&M University and received a bachelor’s degree in sports management there. Jones then went on to achieve a master’s degree in college student affairs from the University of South Florida.

Jones became engaged this past summer to his girlfriend, Laura Yeckley, whom he met in graduate school. Yeckley currently lives in Pennsylvania and works as the director of student activity at Bucknell University. When the couple decided to relocate, they were looking for either a city with many college campuses or a campus with many job openings, as they both work in student affairs.

Jones said it is ironic that he ended up in Austin because his fiancee had previously told him she wanted to get married there after visiting the city for the first time with him. Yeckley will join Jones in Austin in the coming year and will continue looking for student affairs positions in the area, if she does not find one beforehand.

Before coming to St. Edward’s, Jones was the intramural director for two years at the University of West Alabama, a small public school with a Division I sports program.

Jones said there are not many differences between working at a private institution versus a public one, but he points out that he has not been here long enough to tell. However, Jones said he values St. Edward’s strong foundation in history and the university’s commitment to the Holy Cross mission.