Morgan Jones selected to ACC Search Advisory Committee

By Stephen Stone
Seminoles.com

Florida State women’s basketball junior guard Morgan Jones has been selected to the Atlantic Coast Conference Search Advisory Committee. The league made the announcement last Thursday.

The 20-member Search Advisory Committee will be responsible for providing guidance and collecting information and feedback from member schools as part of the search process to select the conference’s next Commissioner. Jones joins Florida State University President John Thrasher as FSU’s representatives on the committee.

Jones is one of five student-athletes on the group and the lone women’s basketball representative. She joins UNC soccer player Rachel Jones, NC State men’s soccer player Leon Krapf, Notre Dame baseball player Jack Sheehan and Syracuse football player Kingsley Jonathan among the student-athletes.

“It is an honor to serve on this committee and be one of five student-athletes who can provide some critical feedback,” Jones said. “As young minds, I feel we can offer the best perspective on finding the next ACC Commissioner who can be adaptive to today’s world of college athletics and where it is headed. I’m proud to be part of this group and can’t wait to help make a difference.”

In addition to the student-athletes, the committee is comprised of several presidents, athletic directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletic representatives.

“The Search Advisory Committee will play an important role in helping us define the qualities we are looking for in our next Commissioner,” said ACC Board Chair Kent Syverud (Syracuse). “By bringing together a diverse group of people from across the ACC to inform our process, including our student-athletes, we will position ourselves to find highly qualified candidates, and ultimately select the right Commissioner to lead the conference into the next era.”

Like many of her teammates, Jones has spent numerous hours in the community since coming to Tallahassee as a freshman in 2018. A native of Jonesboro, Ga., Jones was an All-ACC Academic Team member in 2020 and also earned a spot on the 2019-20 ACC Academic Honor Roll. She also spends her time as part of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and has taken part in several other campus initiatives.

Jones finished fourth on the Seminoles last year with 5.8 points per game, and tied for a team-high 19 blocked shots in ACC play. She has developed herself into one of FSU’s best defenders, and has a growing offensive game that adds to her versatility.

Members of the ACC Search Advisory Committee include:

Jocelyn Fisher Gates, Senior Woman Administrator, Boston College

Stephanie Ellison-Johnson, Senior Woman Administrator, Clemson University

Kevin White, Athletics Director, Duke University

Morgan Jones, Student-Athlete, Florida State University (Women’s Basketball)

John Thrasher, President, Florida State University

Baratunde (Bara) Cola, Faculty Athletics Representative, Georgia Tech

Christine Herring, Senior Woman Administrator, University of Louisville

Blake James, Athletics Director, University of Miami

Kevin Guskiewicz, Chancellor, University of North Carolina

Rachel Jones, Student-Athlete, University of North Carolina (Women’s Soccer)

Leon Krapf, Student-Athlete, North Carolina State University (Men’s Soccer)

Joel Pawlak, Faculty Athletics Representative, North Carolina State University

Rev. John Jenkins, President, University of Notre Dame *

Jack Sheehan, Student-Athlete, University of Notre Dame (Baseball)

Heather Lyke, Athletics Director, University of Pittsburgh

Kingsley Jonathan, Student-Athlete, Syracuse University (Football)

John Wildhack, Athletics Director, Syracuse University

Carla Williams, Athletics Director, University of Virginia

Timothy Sands, President, Virginia Tech

Nathan Hatch, President, Wake Forest University *

* Co-chairs of the Search Advisory Committee