UNT Vice President and Director of Athletics Jared Mosley announced Monday the hiring of Jason Burton as the department’s new head women’s basketball coach. Burton, the ninth coach in program history, comes to North Texas following nine seasons as the head women’s basketball coach at Texas A&M–Commerce.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Coach Jason Burton and his family to North Texas to lead our women’s basketball program,” Mosley said. “His history of building quality, successful programs and his vision for establishing championship culture stood out among our great pool of candidates. As a DFW native, he also has strong relationships across the state of Texas and a proven track record of recruiting that will serve our program well.”
The all-time winningest coach in program history, Burton’s Commerce teams produced five All-Americans, three Lone Star Conference player of the year honorees, one South Central Region Player of the Year along with three all-region players and 25 all-conference picks and five all-defensive selections.
Burton guided the Lions through its first season of NCAA Division I competition in 2022-23 with the program reaching the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament following a 10-8 record in the Southland Conference regular season.
“My family and I are extremely blessed to be a part of the Mean Green Family,” Burton said. “I want to thank Director of Athletics Jared Mosley and President Neal Smatresk for the opportunity to lead UNT Women’s Basketball into the future and into the American Athletic Conference. Their vision for both the athletic department and the university is a huge reason we are so excited to be at UNT. There is so much momentum here and we are fired up to be here and to get to work!”
The Plano, Texas native has won 66 percent of his games as a head coach and holds a 171-90 record overall in nine seasons including wins in nearly 70 percent of his league games for a 110-49 record.
In Commerce’s last three seasons in Division II, the Lions were 69-12 (.852) with two NCAA Regional Semifinals appearances.
Burton guided the Lions to a program-best ranking of No. 2 in the WBCA poll and No. 1 in the D2SIDA rankings during the 2021-22 season. The Lions advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season and played in the LSC Championship game for the third year in a row. A&M-Commerce downed the Colorado School of Mines in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the South Central Regional Semifinal. A&M-Commerce finished the season leading the country in free throws made and third in rebounding.
The Lions won 27 games that season, the second most in program history.
During the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, the Lions posted a 14-4 record and were ranked in the Top 25 all season while winning the LSC North Division crown and earning the program’s first NCAA tournament win since 2008. Dyani Robinson and DesiRay Kernal were named honorable mention All-Americans by the WBCA, the program’s fourth and fifth All-Americans under Burton’s leadership.Skip Adhttps://1d23f20200e699d185d0b6a5b2e4a6dd.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
Burton led the Lions to their most successful season under his tenure in 2019-20, earning LSC Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career. The team went 28-3, tying the program’s record for most wins in a single season. The team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, the first time in program history the team had made back-to-back appearances before the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic.
The team set records for wins in a season (28), wins in a regular season (26), conference wins (20), most consecutive victories (25), best scoring margin (+18.4), lowest scoring defense (56.8) and the then highest national ranking (3rd). The team won its first 25 games of the year and finished the season as the No. 1 seed in the LSC with a 20-2 record in conference games. The Lions earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament before the event was canceled due to the pandemic.
During the 2018-19 season, Burton led the Lions to their first berth in the NCAA Regional Tournament since the 2006-07 season, and just the program’s second-ever appearance. The team won 20 games for the second time in three seasons, and for only the third time in program history.
In his first four seasons as head coach from 2014-18, TAMUC showed steady improvement posting win totals of 14, 16, 20 and 18. The 20 victories during the 2016-17 season marked only the second 20-win campaign in Commerce history.
Burton returned to TAMUC in 2014 following a three-year stint away that included two years as a men’s basketball assistant coach at Texas State and one year as head boys coach at McKinney Boyd High School.
He previously served as an assistant men’s coach and later associate head coach for the Lions men’s program from 2007 through 2011. He helped the program compile a 68-43 record during that time while recruiting a trio of All-Americans.
Burton earned a BA in BA in Business Administration and Management from Austin College in 2007 and an MBA from A&M-Commerce in 2009. He is married to the former Alexyndra Guiton. The couple has two children, Braylon and Jalen.
COACHING HISTORY
2007-09: Texas A&M–Commerce, assistant men’s basketball coach
2009-11: Texas A&M–Commerce, associate head men’s basketball coach
2011-13: Texas State, assistant men’s basketball coach
2013-14: McKinney Boyd High, head boys’ basketball coach
2014-23: Texas A&M–Commerce, head women’s basketball coach
HEAD COACHING YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year, Team, Overall, Conference
2014-15: TAMUC, 14-14, 7-9
2015-16: TAMUC, 16-13, 9-7
2016-17: TAMUC, 20-9, 14-6
2017-18: TAMUC, 18-12, 13-7
2018-19: TAMUC, 20-11, 14-6
2019-20: TAMUC, 28-3, 20-2
2020-21: TAMUC, 14-4, 11-2
2021-22: TAMUC, 27-5, 12-3
2022-23: TAMUC, 14-19, 10-8*
TOTAL: 171-90, 110-49 (nine seasons)
*First season in NCAA Division I
Photo Courtesy UNT Athletics
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