Norton Introduced as New Women's Basketball Head Coach

Columbus, GA - Columbus State University Athletic Director Jay Sparks announced the hiring of former Lady Cougar assistant Jonathan Norton as head women's basketball coach at a Monday press conference. Norton comes to CSU after four years at Berry College in Rome, GA.

"Jonathan Norton was pretty much a ‘no-brainer' for us here at CSU, said Sparks. He is a tireless worker,  a great recruiter, and is as committed to his vocation as anyone I know. I am absolutely thrilled with this hire."

CSU President Dr. Tim Mescon was in Atlanta on Monday and was unable to be at the press conference, but was also very pleased with the hire. "How special it is for Columbus State University to hire one of our own. Coach Norton had world-class training under the tutelage of Jay Sparks and became an enormously successful head coach at Lander and then Berry. We are honored that he will be joining the staff as the second coach in the history of women's basketball at CSU."

Norton brings his coaching career full-circle as he returns to the place where his coaching experience took root. He came to CSU as a student trainer and equipment manager and quickly morphed into one of the top women's recruiters in the country. His success at CSU earned him head coaching stops at Lander University and then Berry.

"It is truly an honor to return home to Columbus State as head women's basketball coach," said Norton. "This is like coming home for my wife Michelle and I, since we are both alumni of the university. I am looking forward to getting to work immediately and carrying on the tradition that Jay Sparks has built here."

"I accepted this position because I believe this is one of the best jobs in the country. I believe in this university. We have a great administration, we have great academics, and we have outstanding facilities. I love this community and it is like a dream to be able to return here and follow in the footsteps of someone like Jay Sparks," he added.

In his four years at Berry, Norton produced a record of 81-49 and took his teams to three NAIA national tournament appearances. He posted 24 wins in his first season, 26 in his third season, and finished with 18 victories in 2008-09, earning national tournament berths in each of those seasons.

At Lander, Norton took a struggling program and quickly turned it around, winning the school's first-ever Peach Belt Conference championship in just his second season, posting a phenomenal 24-4 record that year. That earned him PBC Coach of the Year honors, as well. He finished his three-year stint at LU with a 49-38 slate.

As the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for Jay Sparks at CSU, Norton was a part of 130 wins against only 33 losses during his tenure. That span included two Peach Belt Conference championships, two South Atlantic Region Championships, four postseason appearances and two Elite Eight appearances in which the teams went to the Division II national semifinals. The 2001 team was ranked number one in the nation for most of the season and finished the year at 31-1 overall, falling in the semifinal to eventual national champion Cal Poly-Pomona.

Norton was also head cross-country coach at CSU, taking a perennial last-place team and leading it to a new role as conference contender. He earned PBC Coach of the Year honors in 1999 after leading his CSU team to a second place finish in the conference.

Norton and wife Michelle, a former CSU athlete and Faculty Cup Winner, are both natives of Lilburn, GA. They are the parents of one daughter, Anna Grace (born September 20, 2006) and are expecting their second child in July.