Dr. Teiana Jones Biography

Dr. Teiana Jones has joined the SMU staff in the newly-created position of Senior Director/Assistant A.D. for ADSA.

Reporting directly to the Associate Provost for Student Academic Engagement and Success, Jones will set the strategy for all student-athlete academic services, manage staff and budget, and serve as a valuable partner and resource for University leadership and administration in Athletics.

Jones comes to SMU from Cal State Northridge, where she served as Senior Associate A.D for Academics Services/Senior Director of the Matador Achievement Center (MAC) since August 2015. Jones oversaw the MAC, which included the Athletic Academic Advising and Athletic Academic Support units. She came to Northridge in 2015 with seven years of experience in college athletics, most recently as the Senior Academic Coordinator for Football at Georgia Tech. In her four years at Tech, she oversaw coordinators and tutors and worked with the football, women's basketball and women's tennis teams. Before her time with the Ramblin' Wreck, Jones served as a student-athlete development graduate assistant at Georgia State and then as an Assistant Compliance Coordinator for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. She also worked at Texas in athletic risk management and compliance services. The Chicago-area native received her Bachelor's Degree in Health and Sport Studies with a minor in Leisure Studies from Iowa. She completed her Master's Degree in Sport Administration at Georgia State and in May 2024 she obtained her Doctorate in Educational Leadership EdD with a specialization in Higher Education from California State University, Long Beach.

In her free time, Jones enjoys traveling, spending time with family, watching college sports, painting, and movies. She previously served as a volunteer for the Special Olympics for 15 years. Jones was honored by CSUN's Disability Resources and Educational Services Department as the Outstanding Staff Member of the Year in spring 2016.

Professional organization membership: National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A), Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA), Black Sports Professionals North Texas (BSPNT), and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA).